Report
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar remained undefeated in the 2017-18 7DAYS EuroCup by downing Cedevita Zagreb 69-64 at home in Group G on Tuesday. Lokomotiv improved to 3-0 in Group G, while Cedevita dropped to 0-3. Frank Elegar led the winners with 20 points and 9 rebounds and Trevor Lacey added 19 points. Demetris Nichols and Damir Markota paced Cedevita with 14 points and Karlo Zganec added 11 – all in the final six minutes – plus 11 rebounds for the guests. A jumper by Dmitry Khvostov capped a 15-0 run that bridged the halftime break and gave the hosts a 44-28 lead and the difference stood at 56-38 after 30 minutes. Roko Ukic and Zganec brought Cedevita back to life and the visitors clawed their way to within 65-64 with 22.5 seconds to go. However Ryan Broekhoff hit free throws for Lokomotiv and Markota missed from downtown a few seconds before the final buzzer.
Andrija Stipanovic got Cedevita going with a driving layup, but three-pointers by Mardy Collins and Pavel Antipov gave Lokomotiv a 6-2 lead. Kevin Murphy downed a baseline jumper and Nichols added a back-to-back layups for a 6-8 Cedevita edge. Lokomotiv improved its defense and found a go-to guy in Elegar, who followed a three-point play with a big slam that gave the hosts a 14-10 edge after 10 minutes. Elegar dunked again early in the second quarter and Chris Babb added a floater, but three-pointers by Will Cherry and Markota caused Lokomotiv to call timeout at 18-16. Cherry and Markota each insisted from downtown to put Cedevita in charge, 20-22. Lacey had 5 points in a 7-0 run and Broekhoff added a driving layup, but consecutive three-point plays by Nichols kept the guests close, 29-28. Kulagin hit free throws and followed Elegar’s dunk with a buzzer-beating layup that gave Lokomotiv a 37-28 margin at halftime.
Elegar scored down low after the break and Khvostov followed Kulagin’s three-pointer with a jumper that prompted Cedevita to call timeout at 44-28. Markota sank a jump hook, but a triple by Babb and a put-back layup by Broekhoff broke the game open at 49-30. Nichols hit a couple of jumpers and Toni Katic added a floater, but Lacey singlehandedly kept Lokomotiv way ahead, 56-38, after 30 minutes. A floater by Stipanovic and a three-pointer by Ukic caused the hosts to call timeout at 56-43. Murphy capped a 0-7 run with free throws and Zganec brought the guests within single digits, 58-51, after a 2-15 run. Zganec and Toni Katic made free throws and Markota followed a triple with a jumper for a 63-60 score. Lacey hit a jumper, but Zganec hit 4 free throws to make it a 1-point game, 65-64, with 22.5 seconds left. Markota airballed an off-balance three-point shot and Lacey rounded off Lokomotiv’s win with a jumper on the buzzer.