On Saturday evening, a dramatic game took place in the Lithuanian Basketball League ("Betsafe-LKL") in Jonava, where Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius (11-3) eventually secured the victory. Anthony Cowan's shot sealed the win 94-91 (24:25, 27:25, 20:27, 23:14), condemning CBet Joanva (7-8).
The capital team extended their winning streak to nine consecutive wins.
From the start, both teams played a high-tempo game. However, CBet tried to pull ahead (36:30), but Matas Jogėla and Arnoldas Kulboka reduced the deficit, and thanks to the efforts of the foreign players, the teams were separated by just one point – 42:43.
Wolves Twinsbet regained the lead (49:47), but after the first half, they only held a narrow advantage – 51:50.
After the break, Bohdan Blyzniuk scored important points for the hosts, and Erikas Venskus also contributed, putting CBet ahead 65-63. The home team pushed to take control (75-69), and at the start of the final quarter, they built a record lead of 79-71.
However, the advantage began to fade as Anthony Cowan and Marek Blaževič scored, bringing the score to 82-81, and Wolves Twinsbet regained the lead.
With just under four and a half minutes remaining, the visitors were ahead by a single point (89-88), but Dominic Brewton had other plans, converting two consecutive plays to put CBet back on top 91-89. Both teams' offenses started to stall until Cowan broke the deadlock with a crucial shot, tying the game at 91-91.
With one minute left, Blyzniuk missed the shot, and Andrew Andrews also failed to convert. Ultimately, Cowan had the final word, hitting a game-winning shot that dashed CBet's hopes, bringing the score to 94-91. With just 3.6 seconds left, Childress was unlucky with his shot, and the game ended.
Cowan's 26 points marked his highest-scoring performance of the season in the Betsafe-LKL.
The guests played without the injured Vaidas Kariniauskas.
Wolves Twinsbet: Anthony Cowan 26 (6 assists), Matas Jogėla 18 (4/4 3pt), Marek Blaževič 14, Andrew Andrews 10, Regimantas Miniotas 8, Jeffery Taylor 5, Garrison Brooks, Kristupas Žemaitis, and Arnoldas Kulboka 4 each, Tre'Shawn Thurman 1. Daniel Baslyk and Justinas Marcinkevičius did not play (coach's decision).
CBet: Erikas Venskus 20, Bohdan Blyzniuk 15 (9 rebounds), Brandon Childress 14.
(Photo by Rokas Lukoševičius/LKL)