Zenit defeated Pari Nizhny Novgorod on the road – 72:67 (17:16, 23:17, 16:8, 26:16).
The best scorers
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: Jermaine Love (19), Evgenii Baburin (17 + 7 interceptions).
Zenit: Thomas Heurtel (17 + 5 assists), Trey Tompkins (15), Joe Thomasson (13 + 5 rebounds), Richard Solomon (7 + 7 rebounds).
Game progress
Pari Nizhny Novgorod had 6-6 and the 6th place in the standings, Zenit had 9-2 and chasing CSKA and UNICS.
The start of the game was led to Nizhny Novgorod, who played well in defense and was goon in offense. The St. Petersburg team woke up only at the middle of the quarter, when Trey Tompkins scored 8 points in a row in 1 minute. Zenit took the lead, but at the end of the first quarter had a minimal lead.
In the second quarter, Xavier Pascual squad demonstrated the ability defend in the paint. Nizhny could score only free-throws , because the shooting percentage was poor. Zenit tried to use the full depth of the squad and created a lead at the end of the quarter – 40:33.
After the halftime, Zenit tightened the lead. In the third quarter, the St. Petersburg team allowed the opponent to score only 8 points. Zenit did not score a lot, but the team played better. Three-pointers by Sergey Karasev and Joe Thomasson finished possessions brought the guests a double-digit lead – 56:41.
In the final quarter, Nizhny managed to organize a comeback. The hosts started the quarter with two three-pointers by Evgenii Baburin, caught the courage and gradually began to gain momentum and reducing the score difference.
The key moment
1:22 before the end, Sergey Monia fouled Jermaine Love during three-point shot, the American scored all of them and brought Nizhny Novgorod to difference of 3 points. The Volga team had a chance to equalise – after missed shot by Heurtel, Aleksandr Gankevich had a chance to score athree-pointer, but he missed 24 seconds before the end. In the return possession, Nizhny Novgorod had to make tactical foul and it was a unsportsmanlike. Heurtel scored two free-throws and Richard Solomon scored in the bonus possession – 72:67.
Hero
Thomas Heurtel. The French guard was the most active in Zenit, becoming the best scoring (17) and the best assistant in the winning team (5).
Numbers
7 – Evgenii Baburin updated his career high in steals in 1 game.
What’s next
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: road game versus MINSK December 5
Zenit: home game against Astana on December 4
