Lokomotiv dominates Gran Canaria, opens Top 16 with big road win

Former EuroCup champion Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar made a statement on Wednesday night with a resounding 71-86 road win at Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas. The visitors took the lead for good after only a couple of minutes in the first quarter and behind long-range precision from Ryan Brokehoff and Matt Janning built a double-digit margin they held for the majority of the contest. Gran Canaria managed to get within 6 points in the fourth quarter, but that’s all they were able to muster against the visiting defense that held Gran Canaria, the competition’s top offense, to just 28% three-point shooting and only 16 assists to 12 turnovers. The visitors also outrebounded the hosts 32-19. Janning was 4 of 5 from three-point range and finished with 19 points, while Broekhoff hit 5 of 8 from downtown for 17 points. Kevin Jones and Ian Vougioukas scored 12 apiece, while Vladimir Ivlev battled to pull down 10 rebounds in victory. Kyle Kuric finished with 13 points for the hosts, while Sasu Salin, Bo McCalebb and Richard Hendrix each scored 11 points in defeat.

Janning hit one and Broekhoff a pair of three-pointers in the first five minutes of the game, giving Lokomotiv an early 9-15 lead. Salin hit three times from long range for the hosts, including back-to-back shots, but the visitors remained in front. Lokomotiv led 19-25 after 10 minutes and consecutive threes from Broekhoff and Janning opened a 22-31 advantage before a basket from Jones inside and a shot from Mardy Collins from the outside gave the visitors a 26-40 cushion. Gran Canaria was held to a single basket over a span of five minutes. Broekhoff hit his fourth three on as many attempts, but McCalebb ended the hosts’ drought with a three-point play in the waning seconds of the second quarter, making it 36-47 at halftime. Eulis Baez and Anzejs Pasecniks opened their scoring tallies for the hosts, but Evgeny Babruin and Broekhoff hit from downtown to make it 41-57. Pablo Aguilar scored 5 points to help Gran Canaria briefly cut the deficit to single digits, but Janning’s triple at the end of the third made it 54-67. The hosts scored 7 straight points to get within 63-69 early in the fourth, but Vougioukas and another triple from Janning helped set a 65-78 margin and the hosts never threatened again.