Zenit defeated Lokomotiv Kuban at home – 98:69 (28:14, 28:20, 19:18, 23:17).
Game progress
The hosts took the lead early. Excellent defense and effective offense by Dimitrijevic and Martiuk gave Zenit a double-digit lead by 5th minute – 16:5. The St. Petersburg team did not stop there. At the start of the second quarter, Zenit picked up the pace again and the lead reached 22 points – 40:18.
The Krasnodar team managed to equalise the game, but that was all. In the first half, the hosts clearly outplayed the opponent in all areas. The St. Petersburg team dominated in rebounds (18-9), made less turnovers (2-6), and had a better shooting percentage (64.7% to 44.4%). All this resulted in a solid lead for Zenit by halftime – 56:34.
There was no intrigue in the game. The hosts confidently controlled the game, further cemented the advantage and took the win.
X-factor
The St. Petersburg team had good offense today. But the key factor was classy defense. The hosts stopped the opponent offense from the very first minutes, quickly pulling ahead. As a result, the Krasnodar team failed to score more than 20 points in any of the quarters. The 69 points scored is the worst for Loko in last 1.5 month.
Facts
With today’s win, Zenit moved up to 3rd place. Lokomotiv Kuban retained 4th place.
Zenit defeated a Top 4 opponent for the first time this season.
The St. Petersburg team has now won 7 consecutive home games.
Loko got 3rd consecutive loss.
Leaders
Zenit: Trent Frazier (25 + 5 assists), Luka Samanic (18), Andrei Martiuk (17 + 8 rebounds), Nenad Dimitrijevic (12 + 11 assists), Levi Randolph (12)
Lokomotiv Kuban: Vsevolod Ishchenko (13 + 5 rebounds), Vince Hunter (12 + 6 rebounds), B.J. Johnson (10)
What’s next
Zenit: December 20 on the road against UNICS
Lokomotiv Kuban: December 21 on the road versus Pari NN.
