Fridzon's late heroics lift Lokomotiv past Limoges

Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar remained undefeated at home in the 2019-20 7DAYS EuroCup by downing Limoges CSP 86-75 in Group B on Wednesday. Lokomotiv improved to 2-1 in the standings, while Limoges dropped to 2-1. Alan Williams led the winners with 17 points and Sam Dekker and Will Cummings had 14 apiece for Lokomotiv. Vincent Sanford led Limoges with 24 points, Semaj Christon added 21 while Jerry Boutsiele had 14 points and 9 rebounds for the visitors. Cummings and Williams helped Lokomotiv to a 20-19 lead after 10 minutes. Sanford, Boutsiele and Christon led Limoges to get a 33-34 edge, but Cummings and Dragan Apic helped the hosts regain the lead, 42-41, at halftime. Sanford and Christon kept pushing the visitors after the break, allowing their team to get a 55-58 lead after 30 minutes. Lokomotiv found a go-to guy in Vitaly Fridzon, who got plenty of help from Dmitry Kulagin and Williams to seal the outcome in crunch time.

Cummings got Lokomotiv going with a driving layup and Apic added a tip-in for a 4-0 lead. Sanford hit consecutive jumpers and free throws by Boutsiele tied it at 6-6. Johnny O'Bryant and Dekker scored in penetration, but Brian Conklin kept Limoges within 10-8. Dekker scored again, getting help from Williams and Cummings to give Lokomotiv an 18-12 edge. Sanford struck from downtown, Marcus Ginyard buried a jumper and Atoumane Diagne scored down low to bring Limoges within 20-19 after 10 minutes. A three-pointer by Hugo Invernizzi gave Limoges its first lead, 20-22, early in the second quarter. Williams and O'Bryant stepped up for Lokomotiv for a 28-24 edge. Boutsiele took over with a high-flying tip-in and a layup by Christon caused the hosts to call timeout at 28-28. Dekker scored around the basket and Kulagin added a corner triple, but Sanford and Christon gave Limoges a 33-34 lead. Cummings and Apic tried to change things with respective dunks only to see Boutsiele and Christon bring Limoges within 42-41 at halftime.

Christon scored in the low post soon after the break, but Dekker and Kulagin fueled a 7-0 run that established a 49-43 Lokomotiv lead. Sanford sank a triple and a dunk by Boutsiele caused the hosts to call timeout at 49-48. Dekker dunked, but layups by Boutsiele and Christon put Limoges back ahead, 51-52. Sanford struck from beyond the arc and Christon added an off-balance three-point play for a 55-58 Limoges edge after 30 minutes. Dekker and Williams allowed the hosts to take a 61-58 margin early in the fourth quarter. Lokomotiv kept running its offense through Williams, however, Christon brought the visitors within 65-64 with 6 minutes left. Fridzon followed a jumper with a reverse layup, but a catch-and-shoot triple by Sanford gave Limoges hope at 71-69. Fridzon answered from downtown and Williams bettered Boutsiele's dunk with a three-point play. A jumper by Mantas Kalnietis and a three-pointer by Kulagin sealed the outcome down the stretch.

Pivotal performer

Alan Williams played a critical role off Lokomotiv's bench, bringing in the physicality and intensity required to dominate in the paint. He finished the game with 17 points on 5-of-7 two-point shooting and 7-of-7 on free throws. Williams added 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 5 fouls drawn for a performance index rating of 25.

Game-changing moment

Limoges got within 65-64 midway through the fourth quarter and Fridzon, who had missed his first 5 shots, hit a catch-and-shoot jumper and added a wild reverse layup that caused the visitors to stop the game at 71-66. Fridzon soon buried a three-pointer and Williams added a three-point play to seal the outcome, 77-71.

Stellar stat

Lokomotiv shot much better inside the arc, hitting 27 of 43 two-point shots (62.8%) and limiting Limoges to just 20 of 41 (48.8%). So many close baskets came from Lokomotiv sharing the ball better; the hosts racked up 23 assists to Limoges's 16.

Did you notice?

Lokomotiv remains undefeated against Limoges after five showdowns. Lokomotiv and Limoges are facing each other in the 7DAYS EuroCup Regular season for the third consecutive campaign and the Russian powerhouse has always prevailed.

Next game:

Both teams return to EuroCup action on Wednesday, October 22. Lokomotiv visits Partizan NIS Belgrade in the Serbian capital. Limoges plays on the road against Umana Reyer Venice.