Late threes lift Reggio Emilia over Paris

Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia bested Paris Levallois 78-72 in a game that featured eight ties in the fourth quarter alone. Clutch three-pointers from Drake Diener and Achille Polonara lifted Reggio Emilia in the closing minute. The win improved Reggio Emilia to 2-5 in Group A and left it with an outside chance of reaching the Last 32. Polonara paced the victors with 24 points after drawing 11 fouls. Donnell Taylor added 15 points, Diener scored 12 and Andrea Cinciarini tallied 10 points and 7 assists. Sharrod Ford controlled the paint for Paris with 21 points and 18 rebounds as Paris controlled the glass 30-48. His rebound total is tied for the third most in competition history; Lazaros Papadopoulos set the Eurocup rebounding record at 22 for Dynamo Moscow in December 2004. Blake Schilb added 14 points and Mike Green recorded 13 points and 7 assists.

Paris was running early and led 2-6 after baskets from Schilb and Ford. Taylor jumpstarted the Reggio Emilia offense with a three-pointer, but Ford scored twice more inside for a 7-14 Paris advantage. Taylor sank a second three and Ksistof Lavrinovic free throws brought the hosts within 14-16 after 10 minutes. Amedeo Della Valle hit from downtown to bring Reggio Emilia within 1 early in the second quarter. Big men Michel Jean Baptiste Adolphe and Maleye Ndoye kept Paris ahead, but the home team did not back away. Polonara made it 25-26 with his first three and moments later Cinciarini tied it with a shot from downtown. After Green’s layup and Schilb free throws put Paris up once more, Polonara struck from deep again to tie it at 32-32. Taylor’s third three of the half and a Diener layup in the closing seconds of the half made it 40-35 at the break.

Schilb’s three narrowed the gap early in the second half, but Della Valle kept Reggio Emilia with a 43-40 edge. But Green sandwiched a pair of scores around a basket-plus-foul for Ford to lift Paris to a 43-47 advantage. Taylor and Diener answered quickly to tie it at 47-47. Louis Labeyrie committed an unsportsmanlike foul on Polonara, who put the hosts up 50-49. Ford’s slam ended the quarter with Paris up 51-53. Federico Mussini tied it again and Diener’s basket-plus-foul gave Reggio Emilia a 56-54 lead. Dionte Christmas tied it at 59-59 with a shot from downtown. It was tied again at 63 following a Cinciarini triple and then at 65, 67, 69, 70 and 72. Diener hit a three that put the hosts up 75-72 with a minute to go. An offensive foul on Green and a clutch Polonara triple with 10 seconds to go wrapped up a Reggio Emilia victory.