Strasbourg comes from behind, edges Alba Berlin

Strasbourg lives to see another day in the race for the next stage, after rallying from a double-digit deficit and edging the first place Alba Berlin 78-75 on Tuesday. Strasbourg improved to 2-3 in Group N, and will have a chance to clinch a place in the Eighthfinals with a win on the final day of the Last 32, while the Berliners which have previously clinched the first place in Group N. Strasbourg opened the game with a 15-1 run, but Alba rallied behind David Logan and Reggie Reading. After 37-37 at halftime, the visitors opened 39-49 lead in the third, but Tim Abromaitis and Axel Toupane fueled Strasbourg’s comeback. Bootsy Thornton hit a triple with 44 seconds to go put Strasbourg in front for good, 71-68, and the hosts hit 7 of 8 free throws in the final 15 seconds to hold on for victory. Louis Campbell had 13 points and 7 assists, Thornton finished with 11 points plus 7 rebounds, and Antoine Diot also scored 11 in victory. Redding tallied 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists for Alba. Logan and Levon Kendall each scored 13, and Vojdan Stojanovski netted 10 in defeat.

The hosts had a great opening to the game. Romain Duport and Thornton started things, Campbell hit a triple, before a pair of layups from Ricardo Greer and a put-back from Duport made it 15-1. Kendall hit a jumper for Alba with almost 5 minutes gone, but David Andersen kept the margin in double-digits with a layup-plus foul, 19-7. But baskets from Logan and Redding, plus a jumper from Alex King, helped cut it to 21-15 at the end of the first quarter, before Akeem Vargas hit a three-pointer to start the second quarter. Thornton hit from downtown for Strasbourg, 24-20, but Alba replied with a 0-6 run, including another three-pointer from Vargas, grabbing its first lead of the night, 24-26. Greer and Duport scored for the hosts, but Logan buried a three-pointer for Alba, before shots from Cliff Hammonds and Stojanovski opened 32-37 lead. However, in the final minute of the half, Campbell hit a triple, and Greer made a pair from the foul line for 37-37 halftime tie.

Redding contributed with 6 points in a 2-12 run that opened the third quarter, and Kendall capped it for 39-49. Diot and Tim Abromaitis hit triples for the hosts, but Redding and Logan made it 45-55. However, more baskets from Abromaitis and a jumper from Toupane cut it to 52-57 after the third quarter, before Abromaitis and Jeremy Leloup opened the fourth with back-to-back threes, and Toupane’s free throws put Strasbourg back in front again, 60-59. After Kendall and Leloup traded baskets, a pair of triples from Diot made it 68-65. King had a dunk to tie it entering the final minute, but Thornton’s three-pointer put Strasbourg in front for good, 71-68. Redding cut it to 1 with a layup, but Campbell, Diot and Toupane hit all 6 free throws in the final 15 seconds, securing Strasbourg’s important victory.