Kinsey helps Trabzonspor to vital home win

Trabzonspor Medical Park remained unbeaten on its home court by defeating Buducnost VOLI Podgorica 75-71 on Wednesday in Group D. Trabzonspor improved its record to 2-1 to grab a three-way-tie atop the table with Aris Thessaloniki and Unics Kazan, while Buducnost suffered its second loss of the season to fall to 1-2. A 4-23 run that included 7 three-pointers in a row by four different players gave a the visitors a 22-32 margin early in the second quarter. A run in the middle of the third quarter gave a 9-point margin to Trabzonspor, but the game remained balanced. A 9-3 partial at the midway point of the last quarter gave a 67-57 advantage to Trabzonspor before Tarence Kinsey led his down the stretch with a crucial three and the last free throws. Kinsey was the main contributor for the winners with 23 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals and 4 assists for a performance index rating of 35, Andrija Stipanovic added 20 points, Dwight Hardy 15 and Damian Kulig 12 in victory. Buducnost got 18 points and 8 rebounds from Tadija Dragicevic, 16 points from Nemanja Jaramaz, 13 from Joseph Devoie and 12 points with 9 assists from Omar Cook.

Hardy scored 4 points and Kinsey capped a 9-0 run to start the game, while Kulig from mid range extended the cushion to 13-2. Dragicevic and Jaramaz fueled the visitors to stay on track before consecutive three-pointers nailed by Cook, Bojan Subotic and Devoe put Buducnost in front 18-20. Hakan Demirel beat the first quarter buzzer from mid range to tie the game at 20-20. Buducnost shooters remained on fire to open the second quarter with a 12-2 run that included four consecutive baskets from downtown, the last from Dragicevic to earn a double-digit margin, 22-32. Stipanovic scored for Trabzonspor to get within 27-32, but Jaramaz, also bagged a three before a big effort of the hosts led by Kinsey climbed within 33-36 at halftime.

The lead changed hands six times early in the third quarter. Then 9 unanswered points by Trabzonspor made it 48-40, Dragicevic fueled Buducnost, but 5 points from Kinsey gave a more comfortable 54-45 margin to the hosts. Suad Sehovic and Cook drilled threes, while Hardy hit a jumper close to the third quarter buzzer to make it 56-52. Jaramaz free throws made it 56-54, before Stipanovic got a double-digit margin with a pull-up jumper, 67-57 at the midway point of the fourth quarter. Buducnost was back on track at 69-65 with Devoe finishing on a break, but Kinsey showed all his experience by scoring a crucial three to make it 72-65. Buducnost did not give up, with Jaramaz scoring from the foul line to get to 73-71 with 16 seconds left. Kinsey again scored 2 free throws with seconds left to seal his team’s win.