Uniclub Casino Juventus Utena posted the sixth consecutive victory and defeated Tartu Ülikool Maks&Moorits, 88-63, on Wednesday, January 24, at the Utenos arena in eastern Lithuania.
Players of the game
Dayshon "Scoochie" Smith scored 10 points on 4/5 shooting from the field.
A former Dayton Flyer added a team high five assists.
Ernestas Sederevičius had seven points on 3/3 shooting from the field.
Small forward registered three rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block.
Center Ivan Vranes posted nine points, nine rebounds and one block.
Utena guards Marius Valinskas and Jonas Zakas scored 11 points each.
Mart Rosenthal led Tartu with 13 points on 3/7 shooting from the three point line.
Guard dished out five assists.
Devin Harris contributed with 10 points.
A former Oklahoma Wesleyan University point guard forced nine fouls.
Key stats
The hosts shot 57% from the court for 20 field goals in the first half.
Nine Utena players entered the scorers list to build a 15 points advantage for Juventus, 46-31.
All 12 home team players scored eventually.
The Lithuanians held Tartu to 35% shooting accuracy throughout the game.
Mart Rosenthal scored 11 points for the visitors in the first half but played limited minutes after the break.
Both teams showed a good game discipline, turning the ball over 12 and 14 times respectively.
Utena bench outscored Tartu, 46-26.
Game notes
Uniclub Casino Juventus improved to 6-0, while Tartu Ülikool Maks&Moorits dropped to 4-3.
Oliver Kostič and his men have secured at least the second place in the Group A.
They may lose the first place if the Bakken Bears Aarhus win the last two games.
Uniclub Casino Juventus are 3-0 in the ENBL home games.
Tartu Ülikool Maks&Moorits are 1-2 on the road.
ENBL access: follow the game on YouTube live stream
Format
Four best teams from each group will qualify for the playoffs (A1-B4, A2-B3, A3-B2, A4-B1).
The 2024 playoffs – home and away, best-of-two series – will take place from February 15 until March 20.
The 2024 Final Four will take place on April 9-10.
Standings, as of January 24, 2024
Group A
Uniclub Casino Juventus 6-0 (+112) Qualified
Tartu Ülikool Maks&Moorits 4-3 (+22) Qualified
Bakken Bears Aarhus 4-1 (+61)
Bristol Flyers 3-3 (+39)
Polski Cukier Start Lublin 3-3 (-1)
Landstede Hammers Zwolle 1-3 (-44)
Svendborg Rabbits 1-5 (-133)
Spartak Pleven 1-5 (-56)
Group B
CSO Voluntari 5-1 (+67) Qualified
Royal Liège Basket 4-2 (+60)
Zastal Zielona Gora 4-1 (+25)
Šiauliai 4-1 (+39)
Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles 3-2 (+20)
Keila Coolbet 2-4 (-39)
Basket Brno 1-5 (-58)
Valmiera Glass ViA 0-7 (-114)
Tie-breaker 1: Zielona Gora vs Šiauliai 1-0, +26.
Tie-breaker 2: Šiauliai vs Newcastle 1-0, +2.
Tie-breaker 3: Šiauliai vs Voluntari 1-0, +8.
Tie-breaker 4: Liège vs Zielona Gora 1-0, +23.
Tie-breaker 5: Voluntari vs Liège 1-0, +21.