2020-21Top 16Round 5
Boulogne Metropolitans 92 61
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 83
March 03, 2021 CET: 18:45
Local time: 18:45 MARCEL CERDAN

Lokomotiv stays alive in France

Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar survived a do-or-die situation in Top 16 Group F by thrashing Boulougne Metropolitans 92 61-83 at Marcel Cerdan on Wednesday. Lokomotiv improved to 2-3 in the standings while Metropolitans, which would have qualified to the playoffs with a victory, dropped to 3-2. Nigel Williams-Goss led the winners with 19 points, 7 assists and 6 steals. Will Cummings added 18 points, Kevin Hervey had 12 while Drew Gordon pulled down 11 rebounds for Lokomotiv. Anthony Brown led Metropolitans with 15 points, Maxime Roos added 12 and Brandon Brown had 11 for the hosts. Lokomotiv led from start to finish, opening the game with an 0-8 run, leading 14-22 after 10 minutes and 28-48 at halftime. Nothing changed in the second half, as the guests cruised to a much-needed, no-doubt-about-it victory.

Gordon got Lokomotiv going with a couple of layups, igniting an 0-8 run that Williams-Goss capped with a jump hook. Tomer Ginat, Anthony Brown and Williams-Goss each struck from downtown and Archie Goodwin dunked to make it 8-11. Anthony Brown took over with a three-point play but Williams-Goss and Cummings led a 0-7 run to restore an 11-18 Lokomotiv lead. Roos hit a triple, Reggie Lynch took over with an up-and-under layup and Hervey added a fastbreak layup for a 14-22 score after 10 minutes. Lynch and Hervey kept pushing the guests early in the second quarter to make it a double-digit game, 16-28. Mindaugas Kuzminskas scored down low and Williams-Goss added a fastbreak layup to cap a 0-9 run. Anthony Brown stepped up with a jumper, but Gordon and Kuzminskas fueled a 0-6 run to give the guests a 20-point margin, 18-38. Goodwin and Roos tried to change things for Metropolitans, but Kuzminskas, Hervey and Cummings kept the guests way ahead, 28-48, at halftime.

Ginat and Williams-Goss exchanged layups after the break and Kuzminskas dunked for a 30-52 Lokomotiv lead. Mantas Kalnietis nailed a three-pointer, getting help from Hervey and Stanislav Ilnitskiy to boost the margin to 32-59. Anthony Brown and Brandon Brown ignited an 8-0 run highlighted by Roos's four-point play, but Gordon and Cummings restored a 43-67 Lokomotiv margin after 30 minutes. After free throws by Williams-Goss, Pinault drove for a layup but Kuzminskas fed Gordon inside. Lokomotiv forced another turnover and Cummings hit free throws with 7 minutes left, long past the time that Metropolitans could afford to even trade baskets. An unstoppable Williams-Goss boosted Lokomotiv's margin to 49-78, as the hosts only rallied once the outcome was clear.

Pivotal performer

Will Cummings came off the bench and made the difference with a solid performance with hardly any mistakes. He finished the game with 18 points on 3-of-5 two-point shooting, 1-of-1 on three-pointers and 9-of-9 on free throws plus 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 8 fouls drawn for a career-high PIR of 32.

Game-changing moment

Lokomotiv broke the game open early in the second quarter. Reggie Lynch banked in a running shot, Kevin Hervey finished a four-chance Lokomotiv offense with a three-point play, and then Mindaugas Kuzminskas and Nigel Williams-Goss each scored in a 0-9 run that made 16-32, giving Lokomotiv full control for good.

Stellar stat

Defense and supreme ball circulation allowed Lokomotiv to dominate in the first half. Lokomotiv had 16 assists and 4 turnovers before the break, and Metropolitans picked up 11 turnovers and only had 7 assists in the first half. Those extra possessions and Lokomotiv's two-point shooting (16-of-24, 66.7%) turned it into a 20-point game, 28-48.

Did you know?

Nigel Williams-Goss set a new Lokomotiv club record with 6 steals. The previous record was shared by Jeremiah Massey, Nick Calathes, Anthony Randolph, Malcolm Delaney, Trevor Lacey, Mateusz Ponitka and Kevin Hervey, all with 5 steals apiece.

Next game

Both teams return to 7DAYS EuroCup action next week - on Wednesday, March 10. Lokomotiv hosts Dolomiti Energia Trento and Metropolitans visits Partizan NIS Belgrade in the Serbian capital.

Nigel Williams-Goss - Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar (photo Metropolitans - Olivier DAlmeida) - EC20
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
Eurocupbasketball.com
Referees: VYKLICKY, ROBERT; ROSSI, MICHELE; TSAROUCHA, VASILIKI
Attendance: 0
By Quarter1234
Boulogne Metropolitans 9214141518
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar22261916
End of Quarter1234
Boulogne Metropolitans 9214284361
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar22486783
Boulogne Metropolitans 92
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
3 BROWN, BRANDON 16:23 11 2/3 2/3 1/2   2 2 1 2   1   3 2 13
5 KONATE, LAHAOU 17:23   0/2 0/2   1   1   1 1     2   -5
6 MICHINEAU, DAVID 28:29 4 2/4 0/4   1 1 2     3     2 1 -4
7 ROOS, MAXIME 18:22 12 1/2 3/5 1/2 1 2 3 1     1   4 2 11
8 SAKO, NEAL 1:30                         1   -1
9 PINAULT, BASTIEN 10:02 2 1/1 0/4     1 1 2   1   1 1   -2
10 GOODWIN, ARCHIE 20:22 6 2/2 0/2 2/2   2 2 2 1 3     2 5 9
21 BROWN, ANTHONY 31:08 15 2/4 2/5 5/5 1 3 4 2 2 4     4 4 14
22 OWENS, JOSH 12:59 1 0/4   1/2   2 2     1 1 1 1 1 -3
23 CHIKOKO, VITALIS 24:45 5 2/4   1/2 5 1 6 4 1 2 1   4 2 10
41 GINAT, TOMER 18:37 5 1/4 1/2   1 1 2 1   4     2 1 -1
Team           1 1 2               2
Totals 200:00 61 13/30 8/27 11/15 11 16 27 13 7 19 4 2 26 18 43
        43.3% 29.6% 73.3%
Head coach: ZDOVC, JURE
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 WILLIAMS-GOSS, NIGEL 31:40 19 5/8 2/3 3/5 1 1 2 7 6 4   1 1 5 27
3 CUMMINGS, WILL 23:45 18 3/5 1/1 9/9 1 2 3 4 2 1       8 32
5 HERVEY, KEVIN 26:37 12 5/8 0/2 2/3 2 2 4 1 2   1   3 2 13
6 MOTOVILOV, GRIGORY DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9 KALNIETIS, MANTAS 29:02 3 0/1 1/6         4 1 1     2   -1
11 ILNITSKIY, STANISLAV 21:28 6 0/1   6/6 1 3 4 2         5 4 10
18 KALINOV, VALERII DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
19 KUZMINSKAS, MINDAUGAS 27:28 9 3/5 1/3   1 3 4 3 1 3   2 4 1 5
22 LYNCH, REGGIE 15:51 7 3/5   1/2 2 3 5   1 2 1 1 2 3 9
25 MARTIUK, ANDREI DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
32 GORDON, DREW 24:09 9 4/7 0/1 1/2 2 9 11 4   3     1 3 18
35 EMCHENKO, VLADISLAV DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team           2 3 5               5
Totals 200:00 83 23/40 5/16 22/27 12 26 38 25 13 14 2 4 18 26 118
        57.5% 31.3% 81.5%
Head coach: PASHUTIN, EVGENY

Head Coaches

ZDOVC, JURE
Boulogne Metropolitans 92
"Honestly, like I said to my assistant, a tornado passed through the players. Honestly, I was thinking before the game that I know that it would be a very tough game, because I know this team and how they prepare for this game. They really put all the stocks in this game. We worked hard, prepared for this game, and talked but when the referee put the ball in the air, we disappeared from the floor. I don't know why. OK, for sure, Lokomotiv is a better team, but we beat a lot of better teams than us this year and I don't understand why this happened. We know that we were not physically prepared for this game, to reach their shots, to close the paint, because our first job is to win the battle in the paint, and we are not a physical team. When you watch us and them, you see that they are big, strong and we are not, except Vitalis (Chikoko), who is strong. So our plan was to pack (the paint), to be aggressive, to get the ball and go fast, but we couldn't find the rhythm on offense, mostly because of our defense, because we didn't defend anything. It was very clear, very soon, that this game would be very tough for us."
PASHUTIN, EVGENY
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar
"It was a very important game for us. We were very focused because it was do-or-die. Our guys did it, and I would like to congratulate the whole team, the players and the staff. We were together on the bench. And the way we played today, our game plan, was playing good defense, contesting their shooters, especially Michineau who, in the first game, was very effective and scored a lot of points, playing with a lot of energy. We wanted a hard defensive effort against him and we stopped their points inside from Chikoko with Drew (Gordon) and Reggie (Lynch). And on the perimeter, our guys contested their shots. We forced them to play more contact basketball and I think this was one of the keys. For sure, we received 61 points today and for us, I think, it is the best defense in the year. And offensively, we started to share the ball and got 25 assists. This is the answer in team Basketball; we drive and kick, we don't play selfish or just individual, one-on-one. When the ball flies, it is not easy for their defense. After the first, second and third rotation, if we keep passing the ball, we find open players. They can score or not, but they have the option to score points. And I think this game gives us confidence, togetherness and team character for the next game against Trento, which will also be do-or-die for us. If we play calm and give our maximum, we can qualify to the next round, which is our goal. We are a great team, we have a chance and will use this chance."

Players

ROOS, MAXIME
Boulogne Metropolitans 92
"They just played better than us. They put intensity and we missed more rebounds. They just played better than us tonight. They came to fight and survive, that's it."