Joventut wins again at home

Joventut Badalona captured its third home win this season by easing past Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 101-81. Klemen Prepelic paced five scorers in double figures with 17 points for Joventut, which improved to 3-2 in Group C. Xabi Lopez-Arostegui had 13 points, Conor Morgan and Nenad Dimitrijevic both scored 12 and Kerem Kanter picked up 11 points and 11 rebounds for Joventut. Olimpija fell to 0-5 despite Codi Miller-McIntyre scoring 18 points with 6 assists, Marko Simonovic tallying 16 points and Edo Muric getting 13 points.

The game was close early, despite a three-pointer by Lopez-Arostegui that put the hosts up 10-5. Olimpija rebounded quickly with Miller-McIntyre scoring twice to make it 10-11. Kanter heated up for Joventut and Simonovic for Olimpija as the lead swung back and forth. A pair of threes by Morgan lifted Joventut to 23-18 and prompted a Cedevita timeout. After Ryan Boatright split free throws, Kanter scored the final 5 points of the opening quarter to end it at 28-19. Shawn Dawson came off the bench and provided an instant spark as the hosts soared to 38-24, but he soon fell and was helped off the court. The lead continued to grow for Joventut; Prepelic took charge in an 8-0 run that made it 57-34. Boatright helped narrow the gap to 61-41 at the break. Alen Omic increased the margin to 66-43 early in the second half and Joventut had an answer for every time Olimpija tried to cut into the gap - with Prepelic coming up with two scores and Arturs Zagars making it 76-53. A mini 3-9 run got the visitors within 79-62 and it was 81-62 after 30 minutes. Morgan finished off a 6-2 start to the final frame for an 87-64 advantage that ended what momentum Olimpija might have had. The visitors held Joventut scoreless for nearly 3 minutes, but only trimmed the margin to 87-69. Lopez-Arostegui and Prepelic both knocked down three-pointers in an 11-3 surge to make it 98-72 and decide the encounter for good.

Dawson injured in return

There was a small ovation at the start of the second quarter when Shawn Dawson took the court for the first time in the EuroCup after a knee injury had sidelined him since February of last season. It got a lot louder less than a minute later when he drained a three from the wing. Dawson soon added a pair of free throws and a rebound before he fell and was helped off the court by his teammates. He quickly hobbled to the locker room and did not return.

Pivotal performer

Klemen Prepelic did a bit of everything for Joventut, scoring 17 points - though he struggled with just 1-of-5 three-point shooting while collecting 3 rebounds and 7 assists.

Telling numbers

Joventut out-rebounded Olimpija 36-20 and made a blistering 63.4 percent on two-pointers and a solid 38.5% on three-pointers. Olimpija connected on just 5 of 20 shots from long range for 25.0%.

Next games

Joventut will remain at home and look for four straight wins on its own court when it faces Nanterre 92 on November 6. Olimpija’s next attempt for victory number one will come at Darussafaka Tekfen Istanbul on that same day.