Thompson stars as Nizhny Novgorod routs Panionios

Nizhny Novgorod closed in on a ticket to the Eurocup Eighthfinals after routing Panionios Athens 80-67 Wednesday. Dijon Thompson dominated with 19 points on perfect shooting, 11 rebounds and 4 assists as Nizhny improved to 4-1 in Last 16 Group L. Panionios remained winless in this stage. Thompson led Nizhny from the start as the hosts jumped to a 10-2 lead and never looked back. Panionios rallied to within 3 in the third quarter and within 6 in the fourth, but Nizhny never waivered. Petr Gubanov also did not miss from the field en route to 16 points and Semen Antonov tallied 10 points and 5 assists for the victors. Erick McCollum led Panionios with 22 points.

Thompson took charge early with 6 points in an 8-0 spurt to give Nizhny a 10-2 lead. The difference reached double figures on a pair of Antonov free throws and hit 13 on Thompson’s next basket before Mario Batis drew Panionios within 24-13 at the end of the first quarter. Alexandros Kyritsis heated up early in the second quarter and closed the gap to 28-22. Kevin Langford made it a 5-point game, but back-to-back threes by Evgeny Baburin and Thompson put Nizhny firmly in control again. McCollum stayed hot to chip away at the deficit and Langford again trimmed the difference to 5 before a Gubanov triple left the hosts ahead 43-35 at the break.

A threes from Marc Carter and a McColloum jumper carried Panionios within a shot to start the second half. Nizhny regained control thanks to Gubanov, who restored a double-digit margin, 57-47. Vasileios Symtsak kept Panionios in the picture by narrowing the difference to 7 entering the fourth quarter. A Kyritsis triple made it 61-55, but four different Nizhny players scored in a 9-0 run capped by a Vadim Panin triple to all but wrap up the game with six minutes to go. Panionios rallied back within 9, but Nizhny did not flinch and held on for an important win.