«Astana» Astana, Kazakhstan vs. «Bisons» Loimaa, Finland

Astana defeated Bisons, 83-80, at home on Thursday. The home team controlled the momentum in the first half, leading by as much as 12. After halftime, Bisons mounted a comeback and even led briefly, but Astana responded, holding on for an important home win.

Recap
Bisons and Astana both entered this game in search of their first win. Traditionally tough to beat at home, Astana was favored, while Bisons looked to get over the hump after narrow defeats to Nizhny Novgorod and Kalev.

The home team took control early, going on top 25-14 late in the 1st quarter thanks to a Pat Calathes '3'. Calathes continued to dominate in the second period, scoring 16 points in the first half to stake Astana to a 48-40 lead.

The momentum shifted after the break. Martin Zeno helped Bisons to a 6-0 run to start the 3rd quarter, forcing Ramunas Butautas to call time. Nonetheless, the visitors continued to control the tempo, cutting the deficit to five by the end of the period.

The 4th quarter brought even worse news for the home team. Bisons opened the period on an 11-1 run, surging in front, 69-64, with 7:17 left to play.

Astana responded with a 5-0 run, tying the game midway through the period, setting up a dramatic finish.

Trailing by three points with 20 seconds on the clock, Zeno had two chances to send the game to overtime for Bisons, but both his 3-point attempts were off the mark, allowing Astana to escape with its first win of the season.

Star of the Game
Jerry Johnson. First-half hero Pat Calathes cooled off in the second half. Luckily for Astana, Johnson was ready to step up, finishing the game with 19 points and nine assists. Perhaps most importantly, he hit two huge free throws in the final minute to preserve Astana's lead.

Stat of the Game
32. Number of Bisons' 3-point field-goal attempts. Unfortunately for the visitors, only seven found the mark. Astana was much more efficient, connecting on 12 of 25 attempts.

Quotes
Astana head coach Ramunas Butautas:
- We managed to have the momentum in the first half. We played pretty well on offense, but, unfortunately, made a lot of mistakes on defense. The second half went a bit differently for us. We started to do better on defense, but the Finns managed to catch us thanks to their strategy and persistence. Fortunately, we came out on top in the final minutes.

Bisons head coach Greg Gibson:
- We got a little unlucky today. We had some momentum swings during the game. Our biggest goal right now is to play with more consistency. I'd like to compliment our opponent, Astana. They did excellent work today. We wanted to hit the big shot at the end, but luck wasn't on our side and we missed.

Snapshot

Stats