Trips to Krasnoyarsk are always tough – let us suggest that not only for Lokomotiv: a change in time zones, Siberian weather, plus the crowd at the Sever arena knows how to support Yenisei well. That’s why it was pleasant to see people in red and green colors in the stands.
For the first time this season, Dmitry Uzinsky was in Lokomotiv’s starting lineup – a sign for a defensive setup. And here it is: in the first 2.5 minutes, the opponents made more steals than they scored points. Then Andrey Martyuk made it in from mid-range, then dunked after a smart assist by Vladislav Yemchenko – 6:2.
But Yenisei was quickly able to take the lead after a 3-pointer by Victor Sanders. A tense game began, in which neither side was able to create a serious gap – the hosts every time had an equal response to Loko’s rallies, either Kirill Yelatontsev made a dunk, or Patrick Miller and Isaiah Whaley scored from the distance. The leader changed 6 times during the first quarter, however, Lokomotiv still won this period – 21:18.
Mikhail Vedischev increased the Krasnodar team’s lead to “+5” at the beginning of the 2nd quarter, Antonius Cleveland and Whaley scored another 3-pointer each, but Yenisei was not fazed by this. Sergei Balashov and Roman Zagretdinov regularly forced opponents to make fouls and scored free throws without missing (this was especially noticeable in contrast to the below 50% by the Loko). As a result, the hosts finished the quarter leading in the score, 37:35.
Lokomotiv left the locker room with a completely different energy. Looked like the team had finally woken up. Martyuk atrociously dunked on a fast break, and BJ Johnson spectacularly scored in another fast transition, bringing the visitors’ advantage to two possessions – 43:39.
The reserves added energy well, Kirill Temirov not only worked hard in defense, but also scored important balls; Mikhail Vedishchev at some point played a few minutes against his older brother Zakhar – he fouled him once, but also gave a smart assist to Yelatontsev. The Loko center managed to make another highlight before the end of the quarter, catching a difficult pass from Whaley – 52:51 in favor of the Krasnodar team before the final ten minutes.
At the beginning of the 4th quarter, Lokomotiv made a good run: Cleveland scored a difficult one, Whaley dunked, M. Vedischev converted a free throw for a technical foul of the Yenisei bench, Temirov added 2+1. 60:51 – in such a game, it looked like a margin that would be hard to let go. But two long-range shots by Vladislav Odinokov and another one by Sanders brought the game into clutch – 68:66 in 2.5 minutes left.
Cleveland’s 3-pointer came just in time. And Temirov responded to Balashov’s 2 points with a good pass to Miller, who never misses in such situations – 73:68 and 83 seconds left. Yenisei started making one poorly prepared long-range shot after another, and there was no real chance for the hosts to even the score in the remaining time.
Lokomotiv Kuban got their 11th victory in 14 games. The next game is at home, on November 17 at 16:00. The opponent is Avtodor. We are waiting for you at Basket Hall!