VEF Riga defeated Enisey Krasnoyarsk at home, 84-81 (20-22, 21-21, 21-21, 22-17).
Top Scorers
VEF: Janis Blums (15), Martins Meiers (14), Armands Skele (13), Kristopher Richard (11)
Enisey: Anthony Hilliard (17), Suleiman Braimoh (16), Tony Taylor (12+8 ast), Frank Elegar (12+6 reb)
Turning Point
In a game that featured 12 lead changes and 7 ties, Enisey took the biggest lead of the night, 71-62, thanks to a 7-0 run to start the 4th quarter.
At serious risk of losing to Enisey and dropping into 8th place, VEF’s Kristopher Richard went on a 7-0 run of his own to pull his team within one, 72-71.
After several minutes of back-and-forth basketball, Janis Blums knocked down a big jumper that put Riga ahead by three, 82-79.
Enisey had plenty of chances, including multiple offensive rebounds, but couldn’t get a shot to drop. Richard iced the win at the line in the final seconds, draining a pair of free throws to put VEF up five.
With the win, VEF improves to 6-5, while Enisey drops to 5-7, only 1.5 games above Tsmoki-Minsk and Avtodor for the final playoff spot.
Star
Kristopher Richard. The American guard only scored 11 points, but they came at big moments, helping VEF surge ahead in the 4th quarter.
He also added four rebounds, four assists and three steals to lead the team in efficiency rating (18).
Snapshot
Up Next
VEF: January 21 at Nizhny Novgorod
Enisey: January 15 at Avtodor
