Zenit defeated CSKA at home, 90-77 (23-16, 27-19, 25-17, 25-15).
Top Scorers
Zenit: Stefan Markovic (19+9 ast+4 stl), Ryan Toolson (15), Janis Timma (14+5 reb), Aaron White (13+11 reb)
CSKA: Vitaly Fridzon (13), James Augustine (12), Cory Higgins (11+5 reb)
Intro
Three months ago, Zenit suffered its worst defeat in club history, losing 105-56 in Moscow to the reigning champions.
The club moved on quickly, however, and entered tonight’s contest with a six-game winning streak and a 12-3 record. Playing at home with a healthy roster, Zenit was looking for revenge and a chance to pull within a game of the 1st-place Army Men.
Turning Point
Trailing 10-6 in the opening minutes, Zenit turned to its defense, limiting the visitors to six points over the final six minutes of the 1st quarter.
Behind steady perimeter shooting and balanced offense, the home team was able to finish the quarter with a 23-16 edge.
Zenit kept rolling in the 2nd quarter. Every time the visitors threatened, someone stepped up with a big shot. Aaron White knocked down a clutch 3-pointer to stop a mini 4-0 run from CSKA.
His basket opened the floodgates as Zenit finished the half on a 17-5 run, cruising into halftime with a 50-35 lead.
CSKA has come back from big deficits many times in the past, but it wasn’t to be tonight. Zenit quickly pushed the lead to 23 in the 3rd quarter and led by 20+ points for most of the second half.
The visitors ultimately cut the deficit to 13 thanks to a flurry of 3-pointers late in the 4th quarter, but the outcome had already been decided.
With the victory, Zenit moves to 12-4, taking over sole possession of 3rd place.
CSKA drops to 14-2, setting up a huge top-two clash on Sunday against 13-2 Lokomotiv.
Stat
8-30 – the Army Men shot 8-30 from beyond the arc, 12% below its season average.
Play
Quotes
Zenit head coach Vasily Karasev:
– After the blowout loss in Moscow, we were extra motivated for this game. It’s great to beat CSKA when they were at full strength and to control the entire game, except for the final minutes. We played well on defense and showed great teamwork on offense. I’d have a hard time singling anyone out.
CSKA head coach Dimitris Itoudis:
– Congratulations to Zenit. Our opponents were better today. They wanted it more from the opening minutes. Our team played in disappointing fashion. We’re the same team that recently broke down one of Europe’s best defenses in the game against Crvena Zvezda, knocking down seven of eight 3-pointers at the start of that game. We created open shots today, but couldn’t hit on the perimeter or under the basket.
Up Next
Zenit: February 19 at Nizhny Novgorod
CSKA: February 19 vs. Lokomotiv-Kuban
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