Rytas Vilnius (15-8) convincingly defended their home court in the Betsson-sponsored LKL championship.
The team, coached by Giedrius Žibėnas, defeated Kėdainiai “Nevėžis-Paskolų klubas” (7-16) with a final score of 105:91 (25:27, 28:14, 25:22, 27:28), marking their third straight win in the local league.
Before the tip-off, the March MVP award was presented to Rytas player Ignas Sargiūnas. However, he, along with Kay Bruhnke and Speedy Smith, was rested for this matchup. Rytas is preparing for a crucial trip to Prague this Tuesday, where they will face ERA Nymburk for a spot in the Basketball Champions League Final Four.
The start of the game did not promise an easy night for the hosts. The visitors looked comfortable on offense and held the lead for a portion of the first quarter, ending the first ten minutes up 27:25. In the second period, Rytas gradually took control (39:32), and although the Kėdainiai side tried to keep it close, the hosts went into the halftime break with a double-digit lead, 53:41.
After the interval, Simonas Lukošius continued his strong performance. Midway through the third quarter, it appeared Rytas was putting the game away (68:51), but the visitors managed to stabilize the situation. The gap remained similar heading into the final ten minutes (78:63).
Nevėžis refused to back down in the final stretch, preventing the hosts from relaxing too early as they cut the deficit to eleven (78:89). However, time was on the side of Rytas. They eventually hit the century mark with a three-pointer by Lukošius (101:86) and celebrated a decisive victory at the final buzzer.
Rytas: Simonas Lukošius 25, Jerrick Harding 21, Augustas Marčiulionis 15, Artūras Gudaitis 12, Martynas Echodas 10, Martynas Paliukėnas 10, Nikas Stuknys 6.
Nevėžis-Paskolų klubas: Joshua Jefferson 17, J.D. Muila 17, Jarred Godfrey 14, Kenny Pohto 13, Justinas Marcinkevičius 12, Ignas Vaitkus 8, Justinas Ramanauskas 6.