Zenit defeated Tsmoki-Minsk at home, 84-56 (20-22, 22-10, 22-16, 20-8).
Top Scorers
Zenit: Sergey Karasev (20), Ryan Toolson (17+6 reb), Janis Timma (12), Stefan Markovic (5+14 ast)
Tsmoki-Minsk: Aliaksandr Kudrautsau (16), Aliaksei Trastsinetski (10+7 reb), Aliaksandr Semianiuk (10+5 reb)
Turning Point
Tsmoki-Minsk started strong, securing a 22-20 lead through 10 minutes.
The score stayed close for much of the first half. After Zenit went up by seven, 31-24, Aliaksandr Kudrautsau helped pull Tsmoki within two, 32-30, with less than three minutes remaining.
But Zenit closed the half on a 10-2 run, sparked by a pair of 3-pointers from Janis Timma and Ryan Toolson.
The home team continued to dominate in the 3rd quarter, stretching the lead to 16, putting the game out of reach for the visitors.
Zenit ultimately wins by 28 points, improving to 11-3 to remain in a tie with Khimki for 3rd place.
Tsmoki drops to 3-10, two games back of the final playoff spot.
Stat
26-3 – Zenit enjoyed a 23-point advantage in points off turnovers, capitalizing big-time on Tsmoki’s 17 miscues.
Quotes
Zenit head coach Vasily Karasev:
– It’s good that we won and that it wasn’t close at the end and we were able to try some different combinations. We won thanks to our defense, especially in the second half, when we only gave up 24 points. Even though it wasn’t our best day on offense and we didn’t shoot well, we managed to win thanks to defense.
Tsmoki-Minsk head coach Igor Grishchuk:
– We played decent basketball for the first 20 minutes. Then Zenit took advantage of our turnovers and created an advantage. Plus, we needed to be more aggressive on defense.
Prior to Zenit, we played two important games in the FIBA Cup, which we won. Two important players were also sick. In the end, we took a loss today.
Up Next
Zenit: February 5 at VEF
Tsmoki-Minsk: February 5 vs. UNICS
