«Avtodor» Saratov, Russia vs. «Krasnye Krylia» Samara, Russia

Avtodor Saratov defeated Krasnye Krylia Samara at home, 105-99. After the home team built a big lead in the first half, Samara came roaring back, setting up an exciting finish. Avtodor, however, would not be denied, winning its 3rd straight.

Intro
These two teams had identical 4-7 records entering the game, with Avtodor holding the slight edge prior to tip-off thanks to the home-court advantage.

To the delight of the fans, explosive offense dominated the early going, with neither team able to secure much of an advantage. But Avtodor ended the period with a bang, getting five straight points from Kyrylo Fesenko to take a 10-point advantage, 30-20.

The second period started with a 3-point shootout, dominated by Krylia center Kaspars Berzins, who scored a quick seven points. Thanks to his hot shooting, the visitors kept Avtodor within arm's reach. The home team, meanwhile, ran its offense through the paint, where Fesenko and guards Courtney Fortson and Jeremy Chappell had a hey day.

Samara trailed by 10 points late in the period, looking to cut into the deficit by halftime. Fortson, however, had other plans, exploding for eight points and an assist to Travis Peterson in just 90 seconds to push Avtodor's lead to an imposing 19 points, 65-46.

Turning Point
Other teams may have folded in the second half, but Boris Sokolovsky refused to let his team quit. After Chappell opened the 3rd quarter with a field goal, the visitors ripped off a 10-0 run. Avtodor appeared dazed...even Fortson struggled to score for much of the period. Samara ended up winning the quarter, 29-19, leaving just a nine-point deficit to tackle in the final 10 minutes.

Easier said than done. For much of the 4th quarter, Krylia could get no closer. The visitors were aggressive on offense, but every time they cut the deficit to 5-7 points, Sergei Mokin's men got an answer from Peterson, Fortson or Chappell. The home team also did a good job of drawing fouls in the paint and converting freebies. Krylia eventually pulled within four points, 101-97, in the final seconds, but that was as close as they could get. Avtodor secures an extremely valuable home win.

Star of the Game
Courtney Fortson. Avtodor's explosive American star played almost the entire 40 minutes and was clearly worn out at the end of the game, but he'd already done what he needed to do. Avtodor's 10 points at the end of the 2nd quarter, generated almost exclusively by Fortson, proved the difference in the contest.

Stat of the Game
21 points - Avtodor's largest lead of the game. Krylia got it down to just four points at the end of the 4th quarter.

Top Performers
Avtodor: Courtney Fortson - 24 points, seven assists; Jeremy Chappell - 18 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, five steals; Travis Peterson - 17 points, five rebounds; Kyrylo Fesenko - 13 points, seven rebounds; Tamirlan Bekkiev - 11 points, five rebounds; Micah Downs - nine points, five rebounds.

Krasnye Krylia: David Jelinek - 27 points; Kaspars Berzins - 25 points, 12 rebounds; Andrei Mateiunas - 19 points; Evgeny Fidii - 15 points, eight rebounds.