The Lithuanian side still holds own fate in race for the postseason
Wolves take step toward playoffs with 70-96 win at Trento
Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius took a big step towards reaching the BKT EuroCup Playoffs by winning 70-96 at already-eliminated Dolomiti Energia Trento on Tuesday. Wolves opened a 14-point lead in the second quarter and was not threatened the rest of the way in winning back-to-back games for a 9-8 record in Group A. A victory in the final round against Buducnost VOLI Podgorica will put the Lithuanian side in the playoffs.
Andrew Andrews paced four Wolves scorers in double figures with 19 points - including 12-of-14 from the free throw line - while Matas Jogela had 14 points and both Anthony Cowan and Kristupas Zemaitis added 13 points. Trento had won its last two games and fell to 6-11 despite Saliou Niang scoring 11 points in the loss.
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Neither team was able to score in the first 2 minutes until Marek Blazevic’s tip-in for the visitors. Wolves followed with 4 triples and led 0-14. Eigirdas Zukauskas hit a three-pointer to finally get the hosts on the scoreboard after nearly 5 minutes. Toto Forray’s 6 points for Trento closed the gap to 9-16, but Wolves finished the first quarter on a 2-9 run to lead 11-25 after 10 minutes.
Wolves opened the scoring in the second quarter to increase the cushion to 16 points. Myles Cale scored 7 points in an 11-1 burst to get Trento within 24-30. Jeffery Taylor hit a triple to stop the bleeding for Wolves and start a 2-10 answer to lead 26-40. Wolves went into the break ahead 30-40.
Trento twice scored to make it a 10-point game in the third quarter - the second time being 38-48. The hosts failed to score for the next 2+ minutes and Andrews scored for 6 points as Wolves led 38-56. Jogela and Zemaiis added three-pointers and Wolves held a 50-68 advantage after three quarters.
Wolves put the game out of reach with the first 6 points of the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 50-74. Trento did not get closer than 20 points the rest of the night.