The Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius (9-3) will ring in the New Year by extending their winning streak in the "Betsafe-LKL" championship to seven games.
Alessandro Magro's squad claimed a dramatic 95:94 (20:19, 25:23, 21:23, 29:29) victory at home against M Basket-Delamode Mažeikiai (2-11).
At the start of the game, there were no signs that the favorites would face any trouble — the Wolves led 14:6 halfway through the first quarter. However, Chauncey Collins kept the visitors in the fight, scoring 10 points in the quarter to narrow the gap to just one — 19:20.
The second quarter again saw the hosts off to a better start (27:19), maintaining a near double-digit lead for much of the period. Yet, the Mažeikiai team finished the first half on a high note. Nojus Mineikis' three-pointer halved the Wolves' lead to 40:43, and the teams entered halftime separated by just three points — 42:45.
After halftime, "Wolves Twinsbet" managed to maintain a slight lead for more than half of the third quarter. However, that came to an end with Šarūnas Valunta's three-pointer, which gave Mažeikiai their first lead of the game (58:57). Although the visitors held the lead for a couple of minutes, Vilnius finished the quarter stronger, leading by one point — 66:65.
The final quarter continued to thrill, with Garrison Brooks fouling out early. Despite this, the Wolves kept pushing ahead, but Mažeikiai always found a way to respond. With just a few minutes remaining, the scoreboard showed a tie (85:85).
Collins then hit a difficult three-pointer to push Mažeikiai back in front (88:87). Anthony Cowan responded in kind, but Collins drew the fifth foul on Andrew Andrews and converted three free throws (91:90). Cowan sliced through the defense for a layup (92:91), leaving the visitors with one last chance.
After a timeout, Valunta missed a floater and then committed an unsportsmanlike foul on Regimantas Miniotas, who missed both free throws. Tre'Shawn Thurman was then fouled on a three-point attempt and calmly made all three shots (95:91). Kay Bruhnke hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer, but it wasn’t enough as the Wolves held on for a 95:94 victory.
For the winners, both Cowan and Thurman scored 20 points. Cowan also dished out 6 assists, drew 7 fouls, and tallied a 25 PIR, while Thurman grabbed 4 rebounds and earned a 20 PIR.
Each team played without a key player: Matas Jogėla was absent for Vilnius, while D.J. Fenner was out for Mažeikiai.
Wolves Twinsbet: Anthony Cowan and Tre'Shawn Thurman — 20 each, Arnoldas Kulboka — 17, Andrew Andrews — 12, Marek Blaževič and Jeffery Taylor — 8 each, Regimantas Miniotas — 4, Kristupas Žemaitis, Vaidas Kariniauskas, and Garrison Brooks — 2 each. Daniel Baslyk and Justinas Marcinkevičius did not play by the coach's decision.
M Basket-Delamode: Chauncey Collins — 34, Kay Bruhnke — 25, Šarūnas Valunta — 9.
(Photo by Saulius Čirba)