2017-18Regular SeasonRound 5
November 08, 2017 CET: 18:30
Local time: 20:30 YUBILEYNY SPORTS PALACE

Kuric sinks late game-winner as Zenit fights back to stun Tofas

Zenit St Petersburg gained a thrilling 84-82 comeback victory over Tofas Bursa as Kyle Kuric sank a game-winning triple with just nine seconds remaining. Tofas took control early on and stayed ahead nearly all the way, leading by as many as 15 in the third quarter, but a regular flow of points from Kuric kept his team in contention and he eventually sank the late game-winner to improve his team to 3-2 in Group D, the same record as Tofas. Kuric finished with 27 points including 4 of 7 three-point shooting, while Drew Gordon had 16 points, Marko Simonovic 14 and Sergey Karasev 12. Raymar Morgan scored 17 points for Tofas, Josh Owens netted 14 and Kenny Kadji contributed 11. The visiting team’s offense was led by 12 assists from Baris Ermis.

Baskets were traded evenly in the opening stages, with neither team able to establish a lead of more than two points until a fastbreak score from Owens and a triple from Tony Crocker sent Tofas 11-17 ahead. Crocker hit a jumper and Owens exploded a pair of alley-oops as Tofas established a 15-23 lead at the end of the first. Zenit stiffened its defense and battled hard to narrow the gap in the second quarter as Kuric warmed up with 9 points, but Tofas was able to score regularly enough to preserve a narrow 42-44 lead at the break. The visiting team’s offense clicked smoothly into top gear after the interval, with a 2-14 run extending Tofas’s lead to 15 points midway through the third. But another flurry of points from Kuric, including a pair of triples, got Zenit back into the game at 61-71 with ten minutes remaining. A pair of baskets from steals by Scotty Reynolds sparked Zenit early in the fourth, and Kuric’s lay-up plus foul made it 73-75 before Simonovic’s fastbreak slam capped a 12-2 run to tie it up. A trio of baskets from Morgan got Tofas back in front 79-82 with a minute to play. Simonovic’s free throws made it a one-point game, and Kuric hit another three-pointer to give Zenit a 84-82 lead – its first since midway through the opening quarter. Tofas had nine seconds to respond but Crocker’s shot rimmed out and Zenit held on for a stunning win.

Next week Zenit hosts Herbalife Gran Canaria, and Tofas is at home against Ratiopharm Ulm.

Kyle Kuric- Zenit St Petersburg (Photo Tofas Bursa) - EC17
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Eurocupbasketball.com
Referees: LAMONICA, LUIGI; HALLIKO, AARE; KOWALSKI, MARCIN
Attendance: 4966
By Quarter1234
Zenit St Petersburg15271923
Tofas Bursa23212711
End of Quarter1234
Zenit St Petersburg15426184
Tofas Bursa23447182
Zenit St Petersburg
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 REYNOLDS, SCOTTIE 22:58 7 3/3 0/2 1/2 1 2 3 3 2 1       3 14
4 LAZAREV, IVAN 0:21                              
7 KARASEV, SERGEY 33:35 12 2/8 2/5 2/3 1 2 3 7 2     1 2 5 16
9 MOTOVILOV, GRIGORY DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
10 LAPROVITTOLA, NICOLAS 2:22   0/1 0/1     1 1   1       1   -1
11 BARINOV, NIKITA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
13 VIKHROV, ARTEM 5:44   0/1     1   1     2     1   -3
19 SIMONOVIC, MARKO 33:41 14 2/4 1/7 7/7 1 1 2 1 2 3     1 8 15
22 HARPER, DEMONTE 29:23 5 2/6 0/4 1/2 2 5 7 6   3     3 1 4
24 KURIC, KYLE 28:45 27 6/10 4/7 3/3 3 3 6 1       1 2 3 27
31 VALIEV, EVGENY 17:54 3 1/2   1/2 5 2 7   1   3   4 1 9
32 GORDON, DREW 25:17 16 8/14   0/1 3 6 9     3     1 2 16
Team           5 2 7               7
Totals 200:00 84 24/49 7/26 15/20 22 24 46 18 8 12 3 2 15 23 104
        49% 26.9% 75%
Head coach: KARASEV, VASILY
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
Tofas Bursa
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
2 MORGAN, RAYMAR 25:34 17 8/14 0/1 1/3 1 2 3 1 1     1 4 5 13
6 ERMIS, BARIS 28:25 10 2/4 2/2     2 2 12 4 2     1 1 24
7 ARSLAN, YIGIT DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8 CROCKER, TONY 30:50 9 2/5 1/4 2/2 2 2 4 2 1 2   2 2 3 7
9 MEJIA, SAMMY 31:10 10 2/4 2/4   1 5 6 2   1     4 2 11
15 HENRY, PIERRIA 13:59 2 0/2   2/2   3 3 5   3     1 1 5
17 TOPALOGLU, CANER DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
22 OWENS, JOSH 24:18 14 7/8       3 3 1 1 2 1   3   14
28 BAYRAM, KADIR DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
31 PAUNIC, IVAN 17:43 7 2/3 1/2 0/1   2 2 1         1 1 7
35 KADJI, KENNY 22:53 11 3/5 1/2 2/3   2 2 1   4     5 2 3
77 YASAR, MUHSIN 5:08 2 1/1                 1   2   1
Team           1 3 4               4
Totals 200:00 82 27/46 7/15 7/11 5 24 29 25 7 14 2 3 23 15 89
        58.7% 46.7% 63.6%
Head coach: ENE, ORHUN

Head Coaches

KARASEV, VASILY
Zenit St Petersburg
“Big respect to our players that we fought back. It was a tough game for us but it was a solid fourth quarter and Kyle made a big shot at the end. It was a very important win for us in the group standings. But the defense we played in the fourth quarter, we must play in the whole game.”
ENE, ORHUN
Tofas Bursa
“We gave them too many offensive rebounds and it’s difficult to win the game like that. I’m happy that offensively and defensively we showed quality and we played smart most of the game, but the game doesn’t finish until the final basket.”