«Nizhny Novgorod» Nizhny Novgorod, Russia vs. VEF Riga, Latvia

VEF defeated Nizhny Novgorod on the road, 107-79. Riga matched playoff-bound Nizhny shot for shot in the first half, before pulling away in the second half for an impressive win away from home. VEF hands Nizhny its 3rd loss of the season at home and scores over 100 points for the first time this year.

Recap
Nizhny Novgorod won four of five in March to move into 7th place in the standings. VEF has also played well in recent weeks, despite being eliminated from the postseason chase. Sitting 11th in the standings, Riga is playing for pride in the final month of the season.

Nizhny head coach Ainars Bagatskis also coaches the Latvian national team and released the preliminary roster earlier this week with four VEF players included on the squad. Not surprisingly, VEF was extra motivated for the game, though it was led by its foreign contingent of Josh Bostic, Josh Harrellson and Francisco Cruz. Nizhny Novgorod got most of its production from Semyon Antonov and Vladimir Ivlev, battling to a tie in the first half against its disciplined, organized opponent (48-48).

Matters got much worse for Nizhny in the 3rd quarter. VEF knocked down four consecutive 3's (including three from Harrellson) to go up 75-63 entering the 4th quarter.

Riga kept cruising in the final period, scoring 18 points in the first five minutes of the 4th to lead by 20. VEF went on to win, notching its 10th win of the season.

Star Player
Josh Harrellson. The ex-NBA forward dominated this game, recording a huge double-double (26 points and 16 rebounds) to lead VEF to victory.

Stat of the Game
57 - VEF's 3-point shooting (13-23). Riga did most of its damage from beyond the arc.

Quotes
Nizhny Novgorod head coach Ainars Bagatskis:
- Today's loss was the most upsetting of the season for me. From the opening minutes, we did everything right, but at half strength, and thought that would be enough for a win. VEF played like we expected, but if we can't perform 1-on-1 with zone or man-to-man defense, it's tough to expect success. I should also admit that VEF hit all of its shots. We wanted to win today without getting dirty, but VEF is a very good team with five foreigners and four Latvian national team players. I think they should be higher in the standings. At the same time, I'd say we are stronger and should have won this game.

VEF head coach Janis Gailitis:
- The first and second halves were very different for our team. After halftime, we managed to win the rebounding battle, plus we moved the ball better. It worked out that Nizhny Novgorod played with a shorter rotation, unlike us, which is why we had more energy at the end. I'm happy for our win. This is our first time scoring more than 100 points this season in the VTB United League, against a very good team, no less. Nizhny Novgorod has played excellent basketball for several seasons now and coach Ainars Bagatskis managed to put together a talented roster, despite injuries to start the season. \

Snapshot