Report
In a battle between undefeated teams, Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar took a big step forward in Group G by topping Dolomiti Energia Trento 97-69 at home on Wednesday. Lokomotiv improved to 2-0 and remains the only undefeated team in the 2017-18 7DAYS EuroCup while Trento dropped to 1-1. Ryan Broekhoff led the winners with 20 points. Chris Babb contributed 17 points, Frank Elegar 14, Trevor Lacey 12 and Mardy Collins 11 for Lokomotiv. Yannick Franke and Ojars Silins led Trento with 11 points apiece while Diego Flaccadori added 10. Lokomotiv had a strong start and a four-point play by Pavel Antipov gave the hosts a 14-4 lead. Broekhoff and an unstoppable Elegar soon helped Lokomotiv make it a 20-point game, 26-6. Duston Hogue and Flaccadori allowed Trento to get within single digits, 29-20, early in the second quarter. A dunk by Silins soon tied the game, 30-30, after a 1-18 run. In response, Elegar and Babb led a 15-1 run which allowed Lokomotiv to get a safe lead, 45-32, at halftime. Three-pointers by Babb and Broekhoff boosted Lokomotiv’s lead to 59-35 midway through the third quarter. The hosts kept a 71-47 margin at the end of the third quarter and kept full control of the game until the final buzzer.
Collins got Lokomotiv going with a layup and Babb added a triple in a 7-1 opening run that Brian Qvale capped with free throws. Dominique Sutton stepped up with a three-pointer but Babb scored inside and a wild four-point by Antipov made it a double-digit game, 14-4. Shavon Shields hit a jumper but Elegar and Broekhoff combined for 9 points in a 12-0 run that boosted their team’s lead to 26-6. Sutton and Jorge Gutierrez stepped up for Trento and a dunk by Hogue got the guests within 29-16 after 10 minutes. Flaccadori followed free throws with a jumper to make Lokomotiv call timeout at 29-20. Lokomotiv kept struggling to score, while free throws by Hogue and Shields, a floater by Gutierrez and a dunk by Silins tied the game, 30-30, after a 1-18 run. Broekhoff rescued Lokomotiv with a put-back basket, Babb struck from downtown and Elegar added 6 consecutive points – including back-to-back dunks – for a 45-32 Lokomotiv halftime lead after a 15-1 run.
Babb nailed a three-pointer immediately after the break and Broekhoff struck twice from downtown to break the game open, 56-35. Lokomotiv found a new go-to guy in Lacey, who followed a layup with a jumper and then hit a triple for a 66-37 margin. Silins and Franke each downed a three-pointer in a 0-10 Trento run but Babb answered from downtown and Collins added free throws for a 71-47 Lokomotiv lead after 30 minutes. A jumper by Silins and back-to-back three-point plays by Franke gave Trento hope, 74-57, with over 7 minutes left. Lacey and Collins stepped up for Lokomotiv and a three-pointer by Broekhoff sealed the outcome, 83-59, long before the final buzzer.
Both teams return to 7DAYS EuroCup action next week. Lokomotiv hosts Cedevita Zagreb on Tuesday while Trento visits Buducnost VOLI Podgorica on Wednesday.
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