«Nizhny Novgorod» Nizhny Novgorod, Russia vs. «Krasny Oktyabr» Volgograd, Russia

Krasny Oktyabr Volgograd upset Nizhny Novgorod on the road, 90-87. Down most of the game, Nizhny Novgorod rallied in the final minutes and nearly forced overtime. But it wasn't meant to be. Victor Rudd missed an opportunity to score in the final seconds and Krasny Oktyabr held on for the win, something both CSKA and Khimki failed to do in Nizhny Novgorod.

Intro
Nizhny Novgorod was coming off back-to-back wins against CSKA and Khimki, but a serious knee injury to leading scorer Maxim Grigoryev dampened spirits entering Saturday's game. Krasny Oktyabr came in with a 2-4 record, fresh off a win over Tsmoki-Minsk on the road.

Volgograd set the tone early, leading 18-10 late in the opening period. With the offense sputtering, Nizhny coach Ainars Bagatskis turned to his bench, getting a boost from Ivan Strebkov, who helped the home team cut the deficit to two after 10 minutes, 21-19.

But the defense posed an even bigger problem for Bagatskis. Oktyabr guard D.J. Cooper went off for 14 points, five rebounds and six assists in the opening 20 minutes, while Viacheslav Zaitcev added 13 points and five rebounds to give the Steelmen a commanding 47-37 lead at the break.

The defense did not improve significantly in the second half, but Nizhny's offense came alive. The home team put up 28 points in the third period to make it a three-point game, 68-65, entering the final period.

Victor Rudd was especially effective, scoring eight points in the 3rd quarter. Early in the 4th, he added another '3' to tie the game at 68-68 with 8:33 to play.

Oktyabr responded immediately, ripping off a 10-0 run to make it 80-70 midway through the quarter. JaJuan Johnson sparked Oktyabr, blocking Vladimir Ivlev at one end and dunking at the other, while a pair of 3's from Andrei Mateiunas and Jordan Hamilton secured the 10-point lead.

Turning Point
Nizhny Novgorod clawed back, led by the trio of Semen Antonov, Kaspars Berzins and Victor Rudd. Trailing by two with seven seconds left, Rudd looked to drive the lane and send the game to overtime. The ball, however, slipped out of his hands and dropped to Mateiunas, allowing Krasny Oktyabr to escape with a win. Volgograd improves to 3-4; Nizhny drops to 5-2.

Star of the Game
D.J. Cooper. Cooper either scored or assisted on more than half of Volgograd's points, in addition to snagging eight rebounds.

Stat of the Game
57 - Krasny Oktyabr's free-throw percentage. A better night at the line (12-21) would have allowed Volgograd to avoid such a nervy finish.

Quotes
Nizhny Novgorod head coach Ainars Bagatskis:
- There's no one single reason why we lose to teams with similar talent, while beating the powerhouses. You can see the stats for yourselves. But games like this start from the opening minutes with one-on-one situations and the attitude you take on the court and your reaction when you're getting beat. We were really calm, especially in the first two quarters. During the 3rd quarter, we got the momentum and had a lot of good looks. We made it close at the end, but got a little unlucky. Rudd had Zaitcev beat and I've seen how he can dunk, but the ball slipped out of his hands. It could have been a dunk or even a three-point play.

Krasny Oktyabr head coach Kirill Bolshakov:
- Things were working for us from the opening minutes. At the end, when it got tough, the guys showed their toughness. Thanks to them. They did great. We won because of our effort, refusal to back down and our defense. There were times when we made mistakes and gave up a lot of 3-pointers, but overall the game belonged to us and we couldn't lose today.

Stats

Snapshot