Jerusalem stops Lokomotiv, remains unbeaten

Staying perfect before a delighted home crowd, Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem outgunned Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 90-79 on Wednesday at Pais Arena Jerusalem in Round 4 of the 7DAYS EuroCup. Jerusalem triumphed in its third straight game and continues to stand alone atop the Group D standings at 3-0. Lokomotiv was handed its second consecutive defeat and saw its record fall to 1-2. The league's second-best scorer so far this season, Curtis Jerrells, starred with 18 points for the winners and approached a triple-double with 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals. He made 6 of 10 two-point shots and 6 of 7 free throws to reach that scoring total. Jerome Dyson added 17 points, including 4 of 7 three-pointers, while Travis Peterson followed with 14 points and Tarence Kinsey with 10 for Jerusalem. Taylor Rochestie led Lokomotiv with 18 points, while Dmitry Khvostov added 15 and Ian Vougioukas 13 to go with 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Mardy Collins had 9 assists for the visitors.

It was Lokomotiv that shot out of the gate and led 25-31 after one quarter as Vougioukas piled up 7 points and Khvostov 7. The hosts' defense locked down after that, however, limiting Lokomotiv to just 28 points in the second and third quarters while taking control of the scoreboard behind the scoring of Jerrells and Dyson. By that time the lead was 75-59 and it would hit a high of 88-70 on a three-point play by Peterson halfway through the fourth quarter as Jerusalem coasted home to its third consecutive victory.

Jerusalem will travel to face ratiopharm Ulm in its next EuroCup game, while Lokomotiv heads home to a challenge from visiting Valencia Basket.