{"id":9233,"date":"2026-05-23T19:35:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T16:35:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rytasvilnius.lt\/en\/?p=9233"},"modified":"2026-05-25T20:26:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T17:26:07","slug":"rytas-season-ends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rytasvilnius.lt\/en\/news\/rytas-season-ends\/","title":{"rendered":"Rytas’ Season Ends"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL), sponsored by Betsson, witnessed the biggest sensation of this season.<\/span><\/p>\n

Utena Juventus managed to overcome Vilnius Rytas on the road with a score of 101:95 (30:32, 20:24, 30:27, 21:12), thus advancing to the semifinals.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Utena team won the series 2:0, while Rytas, who finished second in the regular season, ended their season without reaching the top four. The last time this occurred was in 1997.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Utena team had not played in the LKL semifinals, sponsored by Betsson, since 2021. This year, Juventus will face either Klaip\u0117da Nept\u016bnas or Garg\u017edai in the semifinals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Malik Johnson, who sustained an injury in the previous game, did not play, and Rytas was also without Jordan Caroline and Kay’us Bruhnke.<\/span><\/p>\n

As soon as Rytas attempted to pull ahead, Paulius Valinskas made a shot, restoring the advantage for Utena, and Maxwell Lewis added two more points \u2013 8:5. Art\u016bras Gudaitis stepped to the free-throw line for four shots \u2013 making two, while Giedrius \u017dib\u0117nas received a technical foul just three and a half minutes into the game. Free throws continued to be Rytas’ way of scoring points, keeping the score close \u2013 13:12. In half a quarter, Rytas only converted 2 field goals, while scoring 8 points from free throws.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lukas Uleckas and M. Lewis gave the visitors a more tangible lead (23:18), which Augustas Mar\u010diulionis reduced, and M. Echodas’ good run overturned the score \u2013 26:25. Hassanas Diarra’s basket with a foul restored parity (30:30), but I. Sargi\u016bnas closed the quarter precisely \u2013 32:30.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jerrick Harding hit a three-pointer with a foul, but H. Diarra responded with three points of his own \u2013 33:36. Paulius Valinskas grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on a put-back (35:36), and Juventus’ run extended to 14:0 \u2013 44:36. The hosts ended their cold spell (40:44), even as M. Lewis was flying on both ends of the court. J. Harding and A. Mar\u010diulionis continued the run, tying the score (44:44), and P. Valinskas’ emotions cost him a technical and his fourth personal foul. Soon after, \u0160ar\u016bnas Beniu\u0161is and Martynas Echodas also received technical fouls, followed by the Juventus bench shortly thereafter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kenny Cherry received an unsportsmanlike foul with 35 seconds remaining. Finally, after the first half, which Rytas concluded with free throws, the hosts led 56:50.<\/span><\/p>\n

H. Diarra and L. Uleckas scored crucial points for their team and prevented Rytas from pulling away, though Kenneth Smith, hitting three-pointers, had other plans \u2013 69:59. \u0160. Beniu\u0161is scored a two-pointer with a foul (62:69), but fouls thinned out the Utena team, with the dominant M. Lewis sitting on the bench with his fourth. Erikas Venskus made free throws, but G. Masiulis launched a three-pointer (74:65). However, H. Diarra executed two good attacks \u2013 71:76. Finally, E. \u0160aulys’ three-pointer forced G. \u017dib\u0117nas to call a timeout \u2013 74:76. The Utena team was not just breathing down their necks \u2013 E. Venskus tied the score (80:80), only for G. Masiulis’ shot to preserve a symbolic advantage for Rytas \u2013 83:80.<\/span><\/p>\n

A. Gudaitis scored two points with a foul (89:82), but several Rytas turnovers proved costly \u2013 the guests capitalized \u2013 88:89. L. Uleckas answered I. Sargi\u016bnas (90:91), leaving Utena’s deficit symbolic with 4 minutes remaining. H. Diarra stole the ball and drew a foul, taking the lead (92:91), while L. Uleckas’ fifth foul ended his game. M. Echodas made one free throw, and parity lingered for a while \u2013 92:92.<\/span><\/p>\n

H. Diarra and M. Lewis led the guests (97:92) with just 2 minutes left. As Rytas’ offense stalled, Juventus had possession, but their shot missed. S. Luko\u0161ius launched a three-pointer, Utena’s fast break was unsuccessful, and I. Sargi\u016bnas missed an opportunity to put Rytas ahead \u2013 95:97. With one minute left, H. Diarra calmly extended Juventus’ lead, and the guests never relinquished their victory \u2013 100:95.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rytas scorers: Kenneth Smith 20 (6\/8 3FG), Ignas Sargi\u016bnas 14 (2\/11 3FG), Jerrick Harding 12, Augustas Mar\u010diulionis 11, Gytis Masiulis 10.<\/span><\/p>\n

Juventus scorers: Hassanas Diarra 30, Maxwell Lewis 24 (4\/5 3FG), Lukas Uleckas 14, \u0160ar\u016bnas Beniu\u0161is and Paulius Valinskas (3\/12 FG, 6 reb) \u2013 7 each.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL), sponsored by Betsson, witnessed the biggest sensation of this season. Utena Juventus managed to overcome Vilnius Rytas on the road with a score of 101:95 (30:32, 20:24, 30:27, 21:12), thus advancing to the semifinals. The Utena team won the series 2:0, while Rytas, who finished second in the regular season, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9236,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rytas"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRytas' Season Ends - Vilniaus \u201eRYTAS\u201c<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rytasvilnius.lt\/en\/news\/rytas-season-ends\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rytas' Season Ends - Vilniaus \u201eRYTAS\u201c\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL), sponsored by Betsson, witnessed the biggest sensation of this season. Utena Juventus managed to overcome Vilnius Rytas on the road with a score of 101:95 (30:32, 20:24, 30:27, 21:12), thus advancing to the semifinals. 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