aving recently suffered two defeats, Rytas Vilnius (16-10) had to work hard to get back to winning ways.
Giedrius Žibėnas’ team won at home 98:81 (29:13, 20:21, 25:24, 24:23) against Jonava Hipocredit (6-21).
Rytas started the game very strongly and quickly gained a double-digit lead (16:4) after accurate shots by Jerrick Harding and Artūras Gudaitis. Jonava’s offense struggled at the start of the quarter, and the Vilnius team pulled further ahead after three-pointers from Augustas Marčiulionis and Simonas Lukošius. The quarter ended with a confident 29:13 dominance by the hosts.
In the second quarter, Rytas’ lead reached 20 points (40:20) after a series of dunks by A. Gudaitis. The visitors from Jonava managed to stabilize their game thanks to the efforts of Lesley Varner and Benjamin Krikke, who helped to reduce the deficit slightly. Before the long break, 15 points separated the teams, and the scoreboard showed 49:34.
In the third quarter, the Jonava team made an impressive run and narrowed the gap to a dangerous margin (54:52) after Lukas Kreišmontas’ three-pointers. However, Rytas quickly regained control when J. Harding took the initiative and Martynas Echodas dominated under the basket. The quarter ended with Ignas Urbonas’ points, after which the Vilnius team was safely ahead again at 74:58.
In the final quarter, Rytas finally secured their victory, with A. Marčiulionis playing particularly well, hitting several long-range shots. The difference between the teams at one point reached 25 points, and the last intrigue was the Vilnius team’s hunt for the 100th point, which was unsuccessful, but did not spoil the victory by a large margin.
Rytas: Jerrick Harding 23, Artūras Gudaitis 15, Augustas Marčiulionis 13, Martynas Echodas 12, Simonas Lukošius 8, Gytis Masiulis and Ignas Sargiūnas 7 each.
Jonava Hipocredit: Benjamin Krikke 19, Lesley Varner 15, Lukas Kreišmontas 14, Makai Ashtonas-Langford 11, Tommy Rutherford 10, Olin Carter 8.
Source: LKL.lt