By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
In the Russian showdown that opened the Eurocup Top 16 stage, Nizhny Novgorod made an impressive entrance by beating Zenit St. Petersburg 113 – 105 in Group G.
Nizhny performed incredibly well as a squad, but DeAndre Kane truly stood out among his teammates. The American guard registered a season-high 31 points (13/16 from the field), grabbed 9 rebounds and had a total of 39 in PIR, also a season best.
Despite 7 turnovers, Ivan Strebkov was also super with 18 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds while Tomislav Zubzic added 14. For Zenit, Stefan Markovic dropped 17 points and dished out 5 assists, Kyle Landry had 16 plus 6 rebounds and Ryan Toolson 16 points.
As you can easily guess from looking at the final result, the game was nothing less than a scoring fiesta. Both teams scored abundantly, paying zero attention to defense, particularly during the first half which finished 58 – 54.
It was in the third quarter that Nizhny got an ultimately game-winning advantage. Without down-tuning their rhythm, coach Stalbergs’ players shut down their opponents to get a double-digit lead, 83 – 70 ahead of the fourth period.
While Zenit regained its offensive mojo, the hosts were hot enough to stay out of trouble and win the match.
Make 
Your Preferred Basketball Source.
Add Eurohoops to Google