VEF Latvia defeated Enisey Russia on the road, 75-68 (24-19, 17-20, 16-16, 18-13).
Top Scorers
Enisey: Vitali Liutych (18), Anthony Hilliard (15 + 10 reb)
VEF: Mareks Mejeris (17 + 5 reb), Arnolds Helmanis (14 + 7 reb), Ken Brown (14 + 5 reb)
Story
VEF made it back-to-back wins with a hard-fought victory in Krasnoyarsk vs. Enisey. The visitors were led by Mareks Mejeris with 17 points, while two 3-pointers late in the 4th quarter from Alex Perez and Ken Brown proved the difference as VEF secured its third victory of the season to rejoin the postseason hunt.
Enisey had a chance in the 4th quarter, leading 66-64 with less than three minutes on the clock. Poor execution down the stretch, however, doomed the home team as VEF closed the game on an 11-2 run.
This was a closely-contested game from start to finish with 10 lead changes. Neither team ever led by more than eight points.
VEF put together a 12-3 run to close the opening period, sparked by six straight points from point guard Ken Brown, who finished with 14 points in his second game in a VEF uniform.
Enisey responded with an 11-2 run midway through the 2nd quarter and only trailed by two at halftime, 39-37.
The 3rd and 4th quarters featured more back and forth play. Enisey took its first lead since late in the 2nd quarter on a Martins Meiers bucket with five minutes to go, 64-62.
Trailing 66-64 with under three minutes remaining, VEF’s Alex Perez drilled a wide-open triple after an offensive board, then caught the defense napping on the next possession, driving to the basket for a layup and a three-point lead.
Enisey forward Vitali Liutych cut the deficit to one on a layup, but after both teams failed to score on ensuing possessions, Ken Brown hit a dagger 3 at the top of the key to give VEF a four-point lead. The visitors iced the win at the free-throw line, making it two in a row following last week’s victory vs. Tsmoki-Minsk.
With the defeat, Krasnoyarsk drops to 3-10, tied with Astana and VEF for 11th place. Only a game and a half separates 7th from 13th in the League standings with the top two teams from the pack qualifying for the postseason. Strap in for a wild ride in the second half of the season.
Dunk
Мощный данк Сулеймана Браймо (@BC_Enisey)👊
Suleiman Braimoh With A Sweet Two-Handed Slam(@BC_Enisey)👊 pic.twitter.com/EDBQCDQysS— VTB United League (@VTBUL) February 3, 2018
Stat
3-20 – Enisey’s woes beyond the arc continued in Saturday’s game, converting only 15% of its three-point attempts.
Quotes
Enisey head coach Oleg Okulov:
– This is the second consecutive game in which we haven’t played well over the final five minutes. We don’t have a player yet who can take over the game in the big moments. All of our best players were on the court at the end, except for Lyons and Braimoh. Unfortunately, on the possession when VEF hit a 3-pointer, the players didn’t foul as they’d been told.
Some of it may have been bad luck, some of it may have been my mistakes when choosing players. But I think all of our best players were on the court at the end of the game.
VEF head coach Janis Gailitis:
– It’s always very tough to play in Krasnoyarsk, but I think our guys were disciplined today. When we stopped hitting shots, we focused on our defensive play and that’s why we won.
Up Next
Enisey: February 14 home vs. Avtodor
VEF: February 12 away vs. Khimki
Photos
