Eidson leads Unics to big road win in Ankara

Unics Kazan topped Aykon TED Ankara Kolejliler 68-81 on Wednesday night in Game 1 of their Eurocup Quarterfinals series in the Turkish capital. The second leg takes place next week in Kazan, Russia, where Unics will advance to the semifinals if it wins or loses by up to 12 points, while Ankara must win by at least 14 to advance. Unics used a 3-15 run in the second quarter to build a 25-36 margin and extended it early in the last quarter to 44-64 to take a big step toward the next stage. Chuck Eidson paced the winners with 21 points, Tywain McKee added 17 with 3 assists, while Vladimir Veremeenko and Andrew Goudelock bagged 11 apiece. Kostas Kaimakoglou contributed 9 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists in victory. Clay Tucker tallied 23 points and added 4 rebounds and 4 assists for the home team, Vladimir Golubovic amassed 12 points and 9 boards, while Kristaps Valters and Vanja Plisnic netted 10 points apiece. Valters also distributed 6 assists.

Golubovic scored 4 points to open the game, but back-to-back lay-ups nailed by Dmitry Sokolov and Nikita Kurbanov tied it at 4-4. Tucker and Goudleock exchanged three-pointers before Plsinic fueled the home team to a 13-7 lead. Tucker with a jumper from mid-range raised it to 18-11. McKee scored 7 consecutive points while Kaimakoglou hit a three to cap a 0-10 run to give the visitors their first lead, 18-21. Muhammed Baygul made free throws to finish the first quarter at 20-21 for Kazan. Davud Kamer put the hosts in front again. Eidson completed a three-point-play that was answered by Tucker from downtown. Eidson scored a jumper to complete a huge 0-11 run for a double digit margin, 25-36. Berkay Candan stopped a run of five minutes scoreless for Ankara. Tucker’s layup and free throw made it 30-38. Veremeenko fixed the score at 30-40 at halftime for the visiting side.

Caner Erdeniz sounded the charge from long distance, but Veremeenko answered with a three-point-play, then Kurbanov and Golubovic each scored in the paint. Kaimakoglou, again from beyond the arc, extended the difference to 36-48. After Tucker and McKee posted free throws, Eidson scored 7 of the last 10 points for his team in the quarter to lead 44-60. Luke Harangody from three-point range gave a 20-point margin to the guests. Plisnic and Valters drilled jumpers for Ankara, but Goudelock scored free throws to get to 50-68. Valters from downtown cut the margin to 53-68 at the midway point of the quarter, but McKee twice and Eidson netted triples to go up 60-79. Tucker made free throws and fixed the final result with a deep three.