Things did not look good for Zenit St Petersburg in its Round 24 game against Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz. And then its best shooters responded.
Zenit relies on shooters to win at Buesa Arena
Baskonia led 36-25 midway through the second quarter and was on a 10-0 run that had already caused Coach Xavi Pascual to call timeout. Zenit needed answers on offense and found a go-to guy in Billy Baron, who did what he does best - pull the trigger from downtown. Baron hit a couple of triples in a 0-10 run that brought Zenit within 36-35 and kept scoring throughout the third quarter. When he finally cooled off a bit, Jordan Koyd was ready to deliver, following a three-point play with a huge basket in penetration to bring his team within 64-62 at the end of the third quarter.
Related Videos
Loyd was red hot early in the fourth quarter, hitting a couple of three-pointers that gave Zenit the lead for good, 68-73. Once Alex Poythress scored in the low post, Baron provided one of the biggest highlights of the game with a wild four-point play that gave Zenit its first double-digit game, 68-79, with 4 minutes left. The Russian powerhouse managed to keep full control of the game and cruised to an 82-90 victory. When the dust settled, Baron and Loyd had made the difference in the game. Baron made 4 of 9 three-pointers and 6 of 7 free throws on his way to 24 points. Loyd had 23 points, sinking 11 of 12 free throws. They combined for a PIR of 55.