Rome downs Nancy, clinches Last 32 berth


Virtus Rome advanced to the Eurocup Last 32 by downing SLUC Nancy 64-76 in Group C on the road on Wednesday. Roma improved to 6-1 and mathematically made it to the next round while Nancy dropped to 4-3. Kyle Gibson paced the winners with 18 points. Rok Stipcevic and Jordan Morgan each added 12 while Bobby Jones had 11 for Rome. Morgan added 15 rebounds for a double-double. Bandja Sy led Nancy with 18 points. Darius Adams added 11 while Maxime Zianveni had 10 for the hosts. Nancy led 17-6 midway through the first quarter and kept a double-digit margin, 21-11, after 10 minutes. Rome rallied in the second quarter and three-pointers by Lollo D'Ercole and Stipcevic allowed the guests to get a 33-34 edge at the break. Rome soon boosted its margin to 36-46 right after halftime and then again to 52-67 with over 4 minutes left, enough to seal its ticket to the Last 32.

Zianveni had all points in a 6-0 opening run. Jones struck twice from downtown but Sy, an unstoppable Zianveni and Adams combined for all points in a 9-0 run which gave Nancy a double-digit lead, 17-6. Gibson and Daniele Sandri stepped up for Rome but free throws by Adams and Ryan Reid allowed the hosts to keep a 21-11 margin after 10 minutes. Rome found a go-to guy in Morgan, who got plenty of help from Melvin Ejim and Gibson to bring the guests back to life, 23-20. Vaughn Duggins stepped up with a put-back layup which Brandon Triche improved with a three-pointer. Kim English and Reid led a 6-0 Nancy run which gave the hosts a 31-23 margin. It didn't last long, as three-pointers by Jones, Lollo D'Ercole and Stipcevic allowed Rome to get the lead, 33-34, at halftime. Gibson hit free throws right after the break and a triple by Ejim gave Rome a 33-39 edge. Sy answered from downtown but Morgan and Triche led a 0-7 run which made it a double-digit game, 36-46. Sy tried to change things for Nancy and a jumper by Duggins brought the hosts within 43-48. Back-to-back triples by Gibson and another one by Stipcevic made Rome boost its margin to 47-59 after 30 minutes. Adams hit a three-pointer early in the fourth quarter and Sy scored again but Morgan and an unstoppable Gibson made it a 15-point game, 52-67. Stipcevic fired in his third bomb from downtown and Ejim copied him right after that to seal the outcome, 57-73, with 3 minutes left. Nancy kept trying but Rome had cruised to a go-ahead road win.