Lokomotiv breaks record, downs Andorra

Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar turned in a fine defensive effort to protect its home floor and beat MoraBanc Andorra 76-61 on Wednesday night. Lokomotiv improved to 3-1 in a share of the second-best record in Group C, while Andorra dropped to 1-3 on the season. Lokomotiv took control of the game early, but Andorra used a 0-11 run in the third quarter to get within a single point. However, Lokomotiv never relinquished the lead as Kevin Hervey got going late in the third quarter then broke the game open in the fourth. Hervey scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half and also pulled down 12 rebounds to lead the hosts. Will Cummings scored 11, while Alan Williams collected 10 points plus 11 rebounds in victory. David Jelinek scored 13 points and Haukur Pallson netted 12 points in defeat.

Palsson and Mindaugas Kuzminskas started things by trading triples, and the teams swapped baskets before the hosts took control of their paint and went on a 10-2 run in which Lokomotiv had five different scorers to grab a 15-8 lead. Palsson knocked down another three for the visitors, but Jordan Crawford and Andrei Martiuk answered with back-to-back shots from downtown to increase the margin to 23-12 late in the first. Jelinek closed the first quarter with a triple and Palsson hit one early in the second to cut it to 25-20. Baskets were few and far between, as Hervey hit a jumper on one end to open his account and Palsson on the other before a second-chance three-pointer from Tomasz Gielo got Andorra within 31-27. But the hosts did not allow a single basket in the final 3 minutes of the half, as Williams scored inside and Kalnietis raced for a fastbreak layup to help make it 37-27 at halftime.

Andorra was hot from long range early in the third with Jelinek knocking down a pair of triples and a fastbreak dunk in a 0-11 run to get Andorra within 39-38. Reggie Lynch snapped the run and Williams battled inside for a tip-in to end Lokomotiv's drought before a triple from Hervey made it 48-41 midway through the third quarter. Babatunde Olumuyiwe scored inside and had a pair of blocked shots for Andorra, but a put-back from Williams and a floater from Cummings gave the hosts a 56-45 advantage going into the final quarter. A defensive battle continued in the fourth quarter, with Lynch's powerful dunk extending the margin to 60-47. Malik Dime and Nacho Llovet scored inside for Andorra and Hannah hit from long range to make it 63-54, giving the visitors hope. But Hervey strung together 8 points, including 2 three-pointers for a 71-54 lead with 3:30 to go, thus sealing the deal.

Club records

Lokomotiv pulled down 51 rebounds to set a new club record. It tied another record with 38 defensive rebounds. Andorra tied its club record with 6 blocks and its 19 offensive rebounds were only 2 shy of its best-ever mark in the competition.

Key performer

In only his second game in the competition, Kevin Hervey finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. He had only 2 points in the first half, but dominated in the second and scored 10 in the final 6 minutes of the game.

No close-range scoring

Lokomotiv's defense dominated Andorra when it came to two-point shooting. Lokomotiv, which entered the game allowing 44.9% on two-pointers, held Andorra to just 10-of-49 two-point shooting. Lokomotiv set the tone from the start, holding Andorra to just 1–for-10 on twos in the first quarter. Andorra's 10 two-pointers made as well as 20.4% accuracy were season-lows in the competition.

Next up

Next week in Round 5, Andorra returns home to host Lietkabelis Panevezys on Tuesday. Lokomotiv travels to visit AS Monaco on Wednesday.