Zenit defeats Samara at home
In the 10th round of the VTB United League regular season, Xavi Pascual's team hosted Samara on their home court. This game was the blue-whites' first home match in a long time and was marked by the clear advantage of the hosts.
Today, Zenit’s starting five included team captain Sergey Karasev, Trent Frazier, Dwayne Bacon, Vince Hunter and Andrey Vorontsevich, who set the tone with fierce competition from the beginning.
The game opened strong for the hosts: it began with a steal and a quick fast break drive from Hunter, followed by a three-pointer from Bacon. After a brief response from Samara, this duo added another two and four points to the blue-whites' score. Zenit’s opening run secured them a seven-point lead in the early minutes, prompting the visiting team’s coach to make quick adjustments. Meanwhile, Dwayne was on fire. In the first quarter the Zenit forward tallied 10 points, added a rebound and a steal, and played the most minutes (8:32) before being replaced by Denis Zakharov. The Russian guard took over well, immediately hitting a three-pointer. Xavier Moon sank two free throws to restore Zenit’s 10-point lead, which held at the end of the first quarter at 23:13.
The second quarter continued under the control of the blue-whites, as Alex Poythress took the spotlight with consistent scoring and, though a bit later than usual, completed one of his signature dunks. Samara's small run to cut the deficit was met with a timeout from Xavi Pascual, after which Spellman returned to replace Vorontsevich, who had picked up two fouls. The pause settled the game a bit, and Hunter ended the hosts' scoring drought with a basket under the rim. Recovering from a slump midway through the period, Zenit restored a double-digit lead with two three-pointers by Frazier, sending the teams to halftime with a 42:28 lead for the hosts.
Captain Sergey Karasev, who hadn’t scored yet, rectified that with a three-pointer in the first possession of the second half. Vince Hunter’s powerful dunk extended the lead to an imposing 18 points. Zenit continued to play comfortably with constant rotation, and Vorontsevich, Frazier, Spellman and Zhbanov found success from long range, piling on three-pointers and moving toward another home blowout. The scoreboard at CSC Arena showed 64:46 by the end of the third quarter.
Shcherbenev, who entered late in the previous quarter, ended the third with a made free throw and opened the fourth with a confident three-pointer. Zenit was especially sharp from distance tonight, with Moon sinking the team’s 11th, 12th, and 13th threes in succession. The final three-pointer was scored by birthday celebrant Igor Volkhin, bringing their three-point accuracy to 60.6% (14/23). Two emphatic dunks by Poythress sealed the victory midway through the final stretch. Zenit triumphed over Samara with a score of 92:61.
Dwayne Bacon (15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal), Trent Frazier (13 points, 4 assists) and Alex Poythress (12 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 assist) were Zenit’s top performers in the match.
This Sunday, Xavi Pascual’s squad faces a challenging away game against the regular season leaders. On November 3, Zenit will meet Lokomotiv-Kuban in Krasnodar, who will have three extra days of rest following their interrupted winning streak against CSKA. The game starts at 15:00 St. Petersburg time.
