MoraBanc Andorra marches to first EuroCup victory

MoraBanc Andorra snatched its first victory ever in the 7DAYS EuroCup season while keeping Levallois Metropolitans winless this season with a 79-61 victory on Tuesday at Poliesportiu D'Andorra. The story of the game was defense for Andorra, which improved to 1-3 in Group A. Levallois remains last at 0-4. The visiting team was held to 39.5% shooting on two-pointers (15 of 38) and committed 19 turnovers. Moussa Diagne and David Walker led a balanced Andorra attack with 12 points apiece, Jaime Fernandez accumulated 11 points, 4 assists and 4 steals and David Jelinek and Przemek Karnowski added 10 points apiece. Gavin Ware led all scorers with 14 points and 8 rebounds for Levallois, Louis Campbell scored 12 and Maxime Roos had 11 in defeat. The game was close early, but Andorra pulled away with a 13-1 charge that bridged the first and second quarter and led by as many as 17 in the second before settling for a 41-28 halftime lead. Levallois never got closer than 11 after that and Andorra led by as many as 23 in a convincing victory.

Diagne made his mark inside and John Shurna buried a three-pointer as the hosts jumped out to a 12-5 lead. However Levallois stormed back with 4 points from Campbell and a bank triple by Maxime Roos to tie the game at 12-12. Then Campbell hit from behind the arc to put the visitors up 14-15. Walker scored 5 points off the bench to give Andorra a 22-16 edge after 10 minutes. Walker remained on form as his team scored the first 5 points of the second quarter to extend their advantage to double figures. Fernandez’s steal and layup made it 31-18. A three by Boris Diaw was not enough to ignite a Levallois comeback. Instead, Diagne dunked twice in a 9-0 run as Andorra cruised to a 40-23 advantage and led 41-28 at the break.

Ware scored first for Levallois to start the second half, but Jaka Lazic scored twice as Andorra remained in control. The lead swelled thanks to some great plays by Fernandez and Jelinek’s assist and Karnowski’s slam boosted the margin to 20. Roos briefly gave Levallois hope, but Karnowski left the hosts ahead 60-42 through three quarters. Fernandez drew an unsportsmanlike foul and then drained a three-pointer as Andorra looked to put the game away early. Karnowski, in the midst of a terrible game from the charity stripe, split free throws as the Andorra lead stretched past 20 for the first time at 71-50. Campbell was dismissed with a second technical foul and the Andorra lead peaked at 76-53 on a Jelinek free throw as the hosts marched to an important victory.