Zenit scores 100 points and crushes Samara away
The blue-whites secured a confident victory in an away match against Samara. The game with the Volga team took place as part of the 23rd round of the VTB United League regular season. Here's a detailed report of today's game.
In the absence of Trent Frazier and Dwayne Bacon, forward Pavel Zemskiy was included in the roster. From the opening minutes, the lineup on the court of the Samara sports palace featured Zakharov, Karasev, Spellman, Moon and Poythress.
Despite the home team scoring the first points from free throws, Zenit immediately took control of the game, earning a "+8" advantage in the opening minutes. The match was packed with numerous shots and fast possessions. With little aggressive defense being played, Samara would occasionally reduce the gap slightly, only to fall behind again. Moon repeatedly broke through the hosts' defense on fast breaks, scoring from under the basket. The St. Petersburg team played convincingly, with Poythress and Hunter dominating the paint — 19:28 by the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter was less high-scoring but followed a similar script. Zhbanov and Spellman hit mid-range shots, while Vorontsevich and Shcherbenev struck from beyond the arc, steadily increasing the blue-whetes' lead. A slight slump occurred around the 7th and 8th minutes of the quarter, as Samara began capitalizing on their opponents' mistakes with enviable regularity. Zenit frequently turned the ball over, losing possession in the opponent's half and near the center circle. However, this did not significantly impact the game. A buzzer-beating three-pointer by Samara's guard Mikhail Kulagin sent the teams into halftime with a score of 35:49 in favor of the visitors.
The next half began with a 10:0 run by the St. Petersburg team. The standout player for Zenit was Xavier Moon, who repeatedly drove to the basket for points. Team captain Sergey Karasev also scored his first points of the game, hitting a mid-range jumper followed by a three-pointer. This dominant start to the third quarter essentially settled the outcome of the game, with the lead stretching to 30 points or more — 43:76 before the final quarter.
Pavel Zemskiy, who had entered the game late in the previous quarter, played the entire final segment without substitution, adding 4 points and 2 rebounds to his tally. Midway through the quarter, a Russian five Karasev-Shcherbenev-Vorontsevich-Zemsky-Ryzhov took to the court, representing a mix of experience and youth. Most of Zenit's scoring during this period came from Shcherbenev and Karasev hitting three-pointers. Meanwhile, the lead grew to over 40 points, and the St. Petersburg team approached their first 100-point game of the new year. Shcherbenev hit another three-pointer to bring the scoreboard at Samara's arena to triple digits. The final score — 54:103.
The top scorers for the blue-whites were Xavier Moon (18 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists), Alexander Shcherbenev (17 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal) and Vince Hunter (16 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block).
The next game for Xavi Pascual's team will take place at home this Saturday, January 11. The match against Krasnodar's Lokomotiv Kuban will begin at 15:30 St. Petersburg time. Tickets are available at tickets.bc-zenit.com.
