09.01.2007

Davis Helps Dynamo Moscow Region Sink Riga

Joshua Davis enjoyed a starring role as Dynamo Moscow Region overcame a half-time deficit to thrash ASK Riga 91-68 and open up their EuroCup Round II campaign in style.

Not only did Davis lead all scorers with 24 points, but his four three pointers at the start of the third period sparked a 21-4 run that saw Dynamo go from 39-38 down to 59-43 ahead.

The Russian side never looked back after that and, as Riga crumbled under the home side's offensive onslaught, Dynamo would go on to outscore their opponents 53-29 in the second half.

"We are happy to have started the second stage of the EuroCup with a convincing victory," said Dynamo coach Rutjanis Paulauskas.

Dynamo, with five victories out of six in the opening group phase, were firm favourites going into Tuesday's match against a Riga side who had scraped through to the second round with only a 3-3 record.

		Roderick Blakney scored 21 points for Dynamo.

But the Latvian side, who won the first three Euroleague titles ever, more than matched their opponents during the opening two periods.

When Dynamo looked to have gained a slight edge at 18-13, Riga hit back furiously with Ugis Vilums pouring in nine points during an 11-0 run that saw the visitors take a 24-18 lead.

And after Dynamo had again managed to build themselves a small lead in the second period, Riga were quick to respond and they held a one point advantage at half-time, leading 39-38.

The Dynamo coaching staff must have said the right things during the break though, especially to Davis, who was simply unstoppable at the start of the third period.

The American power forward poured in 14 of the first 16 points - including those four three-pointers - to the lay the foundations for what ultimately proved a comfortable win for the Russian-based outfit.

Davis, who had only six points to his name at half-time before finishing with 24, also added five rebounds and one assist in a fine display.

He received good support from Roderick Blakney, who poured in 21 points and hauled down three rebounds, and Nikolai Padius, who added 17 points, four rebounds and five assists.

"We weren't favorites in this game, but we resisted them as long as we could," said Riga coach Ramunas Butautas.

"The change in momentum in the second half is what broke the team. We lost our game, we couldn t score and missed lots of three-pointers."

Riga's leading player was point guard Curtis Millage with 20 points, but Vilums was the only one of his team-mates to join him in double-figure scoring, contributing 12.