University of Latvia break game open in fourth quarter for first win of season
University of Latvia basketball team beat Estonia's Keila Coolbet 85:77 away to claim their first win of the Latvian-Estonian league season. A decisive seven-point run in the final quarter sealed the result.
The University of Latvia (LU) basketball team has claimed its first win of the Latvian-Estonian league season, defeating Estonian club Keila Coolbet, which features Pēteris Salmiņš, 85:77 on the road.
The game opened as a tight contest with the lead changing hands repeatedly. LU took a narrow 21:18 edge after the first quarter thanks to a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Māriņš Pīternieks. In the second quarter, LU built a seven-point lead, but the hosts answered with a strong run to overtake them. A later nine-point streak by LU restored their advantage, and the students went into halftime up 46:41.
After the break, LU extended its lead to ten points, but Keila Coolbet, led by Salmiņš, clawed back to level the score at 61:61 by the end of the third quarter.
Deciding quarter
In the final period, both sides traded successful possessions for a stretch before LU broke away with seven unanswered points to go up by seven. The students kept attacking and reached the game's largest margin, 11 points, late in the contest — a deficit the hosts could not overcome in the remaining time.
Paige Hayes led LU's scoring with 17 points, 13 rebounds and four assists. Reginald Thomas and Lev Koshevatski each added 15 points. For Keila Coolbet, Jordan Tilmon posted 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Salmiņš contributed 15 points and 12 rebounds but struggled at the free-throw line, converting just one of eight attempts.
The win brings LU's season record to one win against three losses. In the day's earlier matchup between Estonian sides, TalTech/Alexela beat Viimsi 85:64 away.
