Rytas Vilnius (5–1) added another win in the Betsson Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL), defeating Šiauliai (3–4) at home 94–79 (32–24, 25–21, 21–21, 16–13).
Rytas guard Jerrick Harding made his return from injury and scored 19 points in just 18 minutes (7/10 FG).
The hosts took control early (7–2). Jordan Walker and Gytis Radzevičius kept Rytas ahead, while Ignas Sargiūnas added a three-pointer to make it 22–14. The lead soon reached double digits (26–16), and after the first quarter Rytas led 32–24.
Harding opened the second quarter with two triples, though Cameron Reddish and Dovydas Romančenko answered from deep (35–38). Artūras Gudaitis helped Rytas stay in front, while Domas Baslykas also joined the three-point exchange. Thanks to their outside shooting, Rytas rebuilt a double-digit lead (50–38) and finished the first half in control – 57–45.
At halftime, Rytas had hit 10 of 14 three-pointers (71%), while Šiauliai were 9 of 16 (56%).
In the third quarter, Rytas maintained their advantage. Vaidas Kariniauskas scored key points to keep Šiauliai close (55–64), and together with Oskaras Pleikys helped reduce the gap, while Reddish cut it to 60–67. However, quick baskets from Sargiūnas and Masiulis forced Darius Songaila to call a timeout (60–71). Rytas responded well and finished the quarter up 78–66.
The final period didn’t change much. Gudaitis continued to dominate inside and Rytas closed out a solid 94–79 win.
Šiauliai were again without injured forward Cedric Henderson Jr.
Rytas finished the game with 14 made threes out of 29 attempts (48%).
Harding led the team with 19 points, while Radzevičius and Gudaitis both added 15 points and 8 rebounds.
For Šiauliai, Cameron Reddish scored 25 points (5/11 3PT), and Vaidas Kariniauskas had 20.
Rytas: Jerrick Harding 19, Artūras Gudaitis 15, Gytis Radzevičius 15, Jordan Walker 12, Jacob Wiley 7, Ignas Sargiūnas 7.
Šiauliai: Cameron Reddish 25, Vaidas Kariniauskas 20, Oskaras Pleikys 7, Dayvion McKnight 6, Dovydas Romančenko 6, Marius Valinskas 6.