The BC Wolves of Vilnius gifted their home fans with a resounding victory in their final BKT EuroCup game this season in Avia Solutions Arena. The home team beat Veolia Towers Hamburg and notched their seventh win in Group A - 94:84 (22:20, 34:21, 19:22, 19:21).
After this double-digit triumph, the club from the Lithuanian capital remained in seventh place in the tournament standings with one match left to play in the group stage. Having only won twice, the visitors from Germany are ranked ninth.
The hosts started shakily and fell behind early by six points (3:9) after a three-pointer by Hamburg center Aleksander Dziewa. Wolves coach Nedas Pacevičius immediately called for a full timeout in the middle of the first quarter after a turnover that led to another Veolia Towers three-pointer resulting in an eight-point deficit - 8:16. This timely regroup revved up the Wolves' engine and the team slowly chipped away at the lead - Tre'Shawn Thurman's two free throws eventually made it 15-16. Later, with a minute left to play in the quarter, the Wolves forward sank a two-pointer while being fouled which put the home team ahead - 20:18.
The Wolves led by two points at the end of the first quarter but found themselves chasing the German guests early in the 2nd canto (24:26). Jeffery Taylor wrestled back the lead for the home team with a three-pointer and afterward, T. Thurman earned an unsportsmanlike foul call and scored 5 points in a row. The Wolves opened a 6-point advantage, and halfway through the quarter, the Vilnius team built a double-digit lead after a three-point shot by Kristupas Žemaitis - 40:30. The Vilnius club's margin ballooned further to 17 points after a 7-0 run (47:30). By halftime, the hosts were comfortably ahead 56:41.
At the beginning of the second half, it felt like déjà vu for the Wolves as they started the 3rd quarter too lax and Coach N. Pacevičius had to call for a full timeout after his team's advantage dwindled to 6 points - 56:50. Once again, the Vilnius players responded in a flash and pushed their lead to a safe distance (64:50). The Wolves managed to keep their advantage secure until the end of the quarter - 75:63.
With about three minutes into the last quarter, the visiting team's coach Benka Barloschky ran onto the court and was penalized with a technical foul after showing his dissatisfaction with the referees' calls. Said infraction did not result in any additional motivation for his team as the Wolves continued to lead by double digits. With 2.5 minutes left to play, Kristupas Žemaitis scored on his 2nd three-point bucket, giving the Wolves a 92:76 advantage with which the Vilnius-based team held on for the eventual victory.
BC Wolves: Jeffery Taylor 20, Tre'Shawn Thurman 19 (6 rebounds), Kristupas Žemaitis 10 (7 rebounds), Regimantas Miniotas 9 (8 rebounds), Christian Mekowulu and Garrison Brooks 8 each, Arnas Beručka and Vaidas Kariniauskas 7 each, Eigirdas Žukauskas 6. Vitalijs Kozys played but did not score.
Veolia Towers Hamburg: Vincent King 21, Mark Hughes 17, and Aleksander Dziewa 16.
The BC Wolves are set to play their last BKT EuroCup away game on February 7 versus the London Lions (UK).