Aris Thessaloniki vs. Neptunas Klaipeda - Game

2015-16Last 32Round 1

January 06, 2016 CET: 18:00

Local time: 19:00 PALAIS DES SPORTS

Okaro White - Aris Thessaloniki - EC15 (photo AEK - megapress)

Aris Thessaloniki dominates Neptunas

Aris Thessaloniki dominated Neptunas Klaipeda 84-58 in a one-sided Last 32 opener for both teams. The hosts reeled off a 25-0 run that bridged the first and second quarters to take a 31-5 lead and Neprunas never got closer than 15 the rest of the way. Okaro White scored 19 points and Jerel McNeal 18 for the winners, while Vassilis Xanthopoulos drained a pair of triples and dished 6 assists. Aris also outrebounded Neptunas 35-23. Daniel Ewing paced Neptunas with 13 points and Gilvydas Biruta and Martynas Mazeika contributed 11 points apiece.

Harvey Grant opened the scoring for the visitors before Jamelle Hagins got Aris going. Ewing hit the game’s first triple to make it 6-5 after two-and-a-half minutes, but Neptunas had little to say after that. Aris finished the quarter on a 19-0 charge in which McNeal hit a pair of threes and White added a third to lead 25-5 after 10 minutes. The Aris march continued with the first 6 points of the second quarter to make it 25 unanswered points. A Mazeika triple ended a scoring drought of more than 10 minutes for the visitors. Grant twice split free throws and Biruta scored too to trim the deficit to 33-12 midway through the quarter. Mazeika free throws ended a 0-6 mini-run before Theodoros Zaras scored for the hosts. Biruta and Xanthopoulos traded threes. After Vytautas Sarakauskas hit a three and Ewing split free throws to bring the visitors within 18, back to back triples by Xanthopoulos and McNeal made it 46-22 at the break.

Grant struck first in the second half with a put-back as the teams traded buckets. A run of back-to-back-to-back threes – two by Donatas Zavackas and the third by Ewing – drew Neptunas within 50-35 and prompted an Aris timeout. The hosts scored the next 8 points – half of them through Dominic Waters – to remain in control. Biruta twice cut the deficit to 16, but a Waters three ended the third quarter at 63-44. Zaras restored a 20-point advantage with a three early in the fourth quarter. Neptunas continued to fight, but the Aris attack was too strong and only added to its lead down the stretch to start the Last 32 in style.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Eurocupbasketball.com

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Referees: BISSANG, JOSEPH; OBRADOVIC, PETAR; BALAK, AMIT

Attendance: 4400 (Tentative)

By Quarter	1	2	3	4
Aris Thessaloniki	25	21	17	21
Neptunas Klaipeda	5	17	22	14

End of Quarter	1	2	3	4
Aris Thessaloniki	25	46	63	84
Neptunas Klaipeda	5	22	44	58

Aris Thessaloniki

							Rebounds						Blocks		Fouls
#	Player	Min	Pts	2FG	3FG	FT	O	D	T	As	St	To	Fv	Ag	Cm	Rv	PIR
4	XANTHOPOULOS, VASSILIS	18:15	6		2/2			2	2	6	1	2			1	3	15
7	PELEKANOS, MICHALIS	9:07	2	1/1	0/1			2	2			1			1		1
8	CUPKOVIC, SLAVEN	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
9	FLIONIS, DIMITRIS	1:34								1		1			1		-1
10	WHITE, OKARO	28:21	19	5/6	1/2	6/6	1	4	5	1		1			2	5	25
11	WATERS, DOMINIC	20:11	9	3/5	1/3					2	1	1			3		4
13	ZARAS, THEODOROS	22:20	9	3/5	1/5			2	2			1			3	2	3
14	HAGINS, JAMELLE	23:22	8	4/6			3	4	7	2		2	1		2		12
15	COHEN, JAKE	11:39	2	1/2			2	3	5	1		1		1	1	1	5
16	MOURTOS, SPYROS	18:23	5	1/2	1/1		1	3	4	3					1	3	13
17	SIMTSAK, VASSILIS	16:38	6	3/3				4	4	2	1	1			2		10
22	McNEAL, JEREL	30:10	18	3/11	4/4		1	3	4	1	2	1	1		4	2	15
	Team
	Totals	200:00	84	24/41	10/18	6/6	8	27	35	19	5	12	2	1	21	16	102
				58.5%	55.6%	100%

Head coach: PRIFTIS, DIMITRIS

Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating

Neptunas Klaipeda

							Rebounds						Blocks		Fouls
#	Player	Min	Pts	2FG	3FG	FT	O	D	T	As	St	To	Fv	Ag	Cm	Rv	PIR
3	EWING, DANIEL	33:01	13	1/4	3/7	2/4		2	2	1		2			3	3	5
6	SIKSNIUS, ARVYDAS	6:13			0/1	0/2									1	1	-3
7	MAZEIKA, MARTYNAS	25:36	11	1/6	2/6	3/4		1	1	5	1	1			4	4	7
8	GIRDZIUNAS, MINDAUGAS	22:11	6	3/5	0/2			1	1			1				3	5
13	BADER, TRAVIS	8:24		0/1	0/2			1	1	1		1		1			-3
15	SARAKAUSKAS, VYTAUTAS	15:24	3	0/1	1/1			3	3		2		1				8
41	ZAVACKAS, DONATAS	22:21	6	0/1	2/3		2	2	4	1		4			3	4	6
45	GRANT, JERAI	24:36	8	3/6		2/4	2	3	5		1	1		1	2	4	9
49	BIRUTA, GILVYDAS	17:39	11	4/5	1/1		2	2	4	2					1	1	16
51	BUTKEVICIUS, ARNAS	24:35			0/2		1		1	3	1				2	1	2
	Team							1	1			1
	Totals	200:00	58	12/29	9/25	7/14	7	16	23	13	5	11	1	2	16	21	52
				41.4%	36%	50%

Head coach: ADOMAITIS, DAINIUS

Head Coaches

PRIFTIS, DIMITRIS

Aris Thessaloniki

"Congratulations to the players and the whole team... We and the fans were a really, really bonded group tonight. We put good bases through the defense in the first quarter and it is particularly important that we kept our performance to a high level throughout the game, because usually things turn around in such games. We kept the advantage until the end. Now this is history and we’re looking to the next game, against Kolossos. We would like to relax and enjoy it, but that’s not possible."

ADOMAITIS, DAINIUS

Neptunas Klaipeda

"Congratulations to Aris; it played a great game in offense and defense. For the first time this season we played in such an atmosphere. About the game, we knew that Aris is the best home defensive team throughout the Eurocup. We asked our players to be mentally prepared from the start of the game. In the first quarter there was only one team on the court: Aris, which took the lead, was better in all areas and then it was not easy even to get back in the game."

Players

WHITE, OKARO

Aris Thessaloniki

"Starting the Last 32, we had a difficult home game and we wanted to be competitive. It’s a great victory against a very competitive team. We played a very good game in all areas. We made big shots and we won. I don’t know if the first half was the best of the season for us, but the first quarter, certainly. Our defense was amazing. When you see that you can play such defense, you want to keep doing that. We did that and got the victory."

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