“If we had played smarter in the end, we could’ve still won the game,” said Lietuvos Rytas coach Aleksandr Trifunovic, who admitted that the team really lacks a point guard and that playing Martynas Gecevicius in that position takes away some of the scoring threat that he usually provides.
Martynas Gecevicius finished the game with 24 points, Kenan Bajramovic scored 16 and Milko Bjelica also ended up in double-digits with 13 points. The rest of Lietuvos Rytas roster didn’t contribute much in the game with Cemal Nalga and Simas Jasaitis next on the scorer’s list with four points each.
“We controlled the game for three quarters of the game, but when we were leading 45-32, our game just fell apart – both offensively and defensively,” said the head coach of the Vilnius team, Aleksandr Trifunovic, who pointed out that the 15 offensive boards that his side allowed Unics to grab cost them the game in the end.
Kelly McCarty could be called the hero of the game just for swatting away El-Amin’s layup late in the game, but the American also scored 25 points and grabbed nine boards, leading Unics to a much needed win, which practically guarantees the Russian side a place in the Final Four.
Terrell Lyday knocked down 10-of-12 free throws with confidence for a total of 18 points while Maciej Lampe scored just six points, but all in the crucial part of the game.
The Lithuanian side still has a theoretical chance of making the Final Four, but it will be difficult to finish ahead of Unics and CSKA Moscow, who also won the first game against the Lietuvos Rytas early in the season.
