Report
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar completed a perfect 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season by overwhelming Partizan NIS Belgrade 99-64 at home in Group C on Wednesday. Lokomotiv finished first in Group C with a 10-0 record and will keep fighting for EuroCup glory in Top 16 Group G. Partizan finished sixth with a 1-9 record. Pavel Antipov led the winners with 21 points, Mardy Collins added 13 and Dmitry Kulagin, Brian Qvale and Ryan Broekhoff each scored 11 for Lokomotiv. Vanja Marinkovic led Partizan with 15 points and Nigel Williams-Goss and Novica Velickovic each had 11 for the guests. Broekhoff and Kulagin fueled an 11-0 run that helped Lokomotiv to a 22-18 lead after 10 minutes. Lokomotiv rolled early in the second quarter, as Collins, Chris Babb and Trevor Lacey boosted their team’s lead to 39-21. Lokomotiv kept pushing, as Babb and Qvale gave the hosts a 54-28 margin at halftime. Antipov took over after the break and a dunk by Kulagin made it a 30-point game and Lokomotiv cruised until the final buzzer.
Qvale shined early, following a second-chance basket with a floater for a 5-2 Lokomotiv lead. Marinkovic struck from downtown and free throws by Strahinja Gavrilovic gave Partizan its first lead, 5-7. It didn’t last long, however, as Broekhoff and Kulagin combined for 9 points in an 11-0 run that gave Lokomotiv a 16-7 lead. Gavrilovic stepped up with a dunk and a layup before Velickovic singlehandedly brought Partizan within 19-18. A three-pointer by Babb fixed the score at 22-18 after 10 minutes. Babb kept pushing the hosts with free throws, Collins hit a jumper and an unstoppable Lacey broke the game open at 31-18. Williams-Goss and Dmitry Khvostov traded triples and a driving layup by Collins caused Partizan call timeout at 36-21. Antipov struck from downtown to cap a 20-3 run, but Patrick Miller and Williams-Goss brought Partizan a bit closer, 41-26. Qvale took over with 6 unanswered points, Stanislav Ilnitskiy buried a triple and Babb gave Lokomotiv a 54-28 margin at halftime.
Antipov took over after the break with a couple of three-pointers, a jumper and a fast break layup. Kulagin soon added a fast break slam for a 30-point Lokomotiv lead, 68-38. Collins and Broekhoff downed back-to-back shots from downtown and a put-back slam by Frank Elegar prompted Partizan to call timeout at 78-39. Djoko Salic and Miller brought Partizan within 83-46 after 30 minutes. Nothing changed in the fourth quarter, as Lokomotiv had cruised to its 10th win in as many regular season games.