Wolves hold on in Poland for second win in a row

Key three-pointers by Andrew Andrews decided the game in overtime

Regular Season

Round 5 of 18

game Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius vs Trefl Sopot

Group A

22 October 2024, 17:45

Regular Season

22 October 2024, 17:45

Regular Season

Trefl Sopot

SOP

92

99

Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius

WLV

Final Score

l

w

l

Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius managed to pull off a hard-fought 92-99 road win when it defeated Trefl Sopot at Ergo Arena on Tuesday night. Despite enjoying a 13-point advantage right after halftime, the visitors saw how the hosts forced overtime with a three-pointer with 26 seconds to play in regulation. A strong 10-0 run to start overtime, behind three-pointers by Andrew Andrews, finally turned the scales for the visitors. Wolves improved to 2-3 after earning their second straight win on the road. Trefl Sopot remains winless after 5 rounds.

Tre'Shawn Thurman led the winners with 17 points and 4 rebounds, Andrews followed with 15 and 5 assists, while Jeffery Taylor, Anthony Cowan and Garrison Brooks finished with 14 points apiece. Marcus Weathers signed off a career-high of 25 points, Jakub Schenk contributed 19 and 7 assists, Andy Van Vliet added 11 and Tarik Phillip recorded 10 points, 7 rebounds and 7 dishes in the losing effort.

The home team had a nightmare start, as it missed all its field goal attempts (4) and turned the ball over three times in the first 3 minutes of the game. As such, Wolves easily built a 0-7 advantage behind 5 points in a row by Taylor. An unsportsmanlike foul called on Taylor gave some air to Sopot, who also took advantage of its opponent’s turnovers to recover some balance, shift momentum, and take a 9-7 edge midway through the first quarter. It was nothing but an illusion, as Wolves immediately fought back, locking in in defense and punishing Sopot with a 2-13 run to make it 11-20. A late three by Varis Kariniauskas, the second of Wolves so far, built a double-digit margin for the visitors, 15-25, at the end of the first quarter.

Thurman and Andrews made it worse for the hosts with consecutive three-point plays, 18-31, which seemed to send Sopot to the ropes too early. But it didn’t happen, as Schenk converted the first Polish three - after 5 attempts - in the game and Van Vliet continued with another of his own to reactivate the home side. Weathers joined the party too, reducing the gap to just 30-37 after 15 minutes. The visitors quickly stopped the game with a timeout that slowed down the Sopot reaction. Taylor showed up again and brought some experience to the table, good to push his team to a 34-47 advantage soon after. A late three by Schenk allowed Sopot to reach halftime still alive, 37-47.

Sopot tried to match its opponent’s physicality after the intermission and geared up in defense to try to turn the tables. It didn’t work at first, as Zemaitis took advantage of another Sopot turnover to make it 39-52, but after a Zan Tabak timeout, McGowens and the first three by Aaron Best revitalized Sopot, 44-52. Weathers joined with an inside bucket, Aaron Best nailed another triple and followed with a fastbreak dunk that took it even further, 53-55. Zyskowski made it a 1-point game with a three-point play, 58-59, but that was the closest Sopot could get in the period, as Brooks first inside, then Cowan from behind the arc, helped Wolves hold on, 62-66, entering the last stanza.

Van Vliet brought the home team within 1 again with a three right after the game resumed, but Wolves didn’t lose their poise. Thurman came up big with a three-point response and a couple of free-throws to cool it down, and when Blazevic added a three-point play right after Jaroslaw Zyskowski couldn’t cap his, the visitors felt at home again, 67-74. But even with 4 players with 4 fouls already - Schenk, Weathers, Robert McGowens and Best, the home team still wanted to make its last statement. A local timeout with Sopot trailing 76-84 and 3 minutes to play triggered the home team reaction, capped with back-to-back three-pointers by Van Vliet and Weathers that evened things, 84-84, with only 26 seconds to go. A difficult last shot by Cowan did not find the net and the game went to extra time.

Andrews decided to take the reins in overtime. He first nailed a three to open the extra period, and later fed Brooks for an inside basket and continued with another three to cap a 10-0 run for the visitors that left Sopot in shock, 84-94. Schenk kept pushing and reduced the gap to 4 points from the line with less than 100 seconds to go, but it turned into the last breath for the home team when Cowan and Zemaitis responded from the same place to confirm the outcome.