The Vytautas Magnus University (5/1) basketball team climbed to first place in Division A after a hard-fought 98:95 (28:27, 26:20, 19:30, 25:18) at home on Saturday.
Both teams exchanged the lead in the first quarter. The VDU team, which demonstrated a better offense, pulled ahead in the second quarter (51:42), which allowed them to remain in the lead before the second half of the game.
In the third quarter, Akmenė increased the tempo on both sides of the court and even took the lead (66:62), but the hosts did not let their opponents pull away, and the teams entered the decisive quarter with the visitors leading by a narrow margin (77:73).
The fourth quarter was neck and neck – with two minutes left to play, Akmenė was still ahead (93:91), but then E. Anušauskas sank a three-pointer and put VDU in the lead. The visitors had a chance to force overtime with a decisive attack, but E. Juodrio’s shot was off target, and the hosts celebrated the victory.
Vytautas Magnus University shot excellently from distance – 14/27 (53%), while their opponents only managed 9/30 (30%). Ričardas Butkus became the leader of VDU in this game, scoring 21 points (3/4 two-pointers, 5/8 three-pointers) in 22 minutes, grabbing 2 rebounds and scoring 16 efficiency points.
Friday – victory against Biržai
On Friday, Vytautas Magnus University (4/1) defeated Biržai (1/4) 92:87 (26:29, 27:20, 26:24, 13:14) at home.
The teams constantly changed places in the lead during the first half of the game. Before the long break, D. Uosis gave VDU a 4-point lead (53:49) with his free throws, and the teams went into the break with the hosts holding a narrow lead.
The situation on the court did not change after the break – the hosts continued to lead, while Biržai remained in contention. In the fourth quarter, with 5 minutes left to play, D. Uosis gave VDU a record lead (86:76) with a two-pointer, but the visitors did not give up and responded with a 9:2 run to get back into the game. In the remaining time, both teams struggled to score points, and Biržai, having failed to take advantage of their chance to turn the game around, had to concede victory to the students.
Even an impressive number of free throws – 31/42, compared to their opponents’ 16/18 – could not save Biržai from defeat.
Domas Uosis was the most impressive player on the VDU team, scoring 20 points in 30 minutes (4/5 two-pointers, 3/5 three-pointers, 3/3 free throws), grabbing 5 rebounds, making 9 assists, and collecting 32 efficiency points.
Information from RKL.lt
