CAI Zaragoza beats Nancy, moves into second place in Group C

CAI Zaragoza snapped a two-game losing streak and took a giant step towards the Eurocup Last 32 with a 75-71 home victory over SLUC Nancy. Stevan Jelovac collected 14 points and 9 rebounds while Joan Sastre had 13 points as Zaragoza improved to 5-3 in Group C. Tomas Bellas added 12 points and Henk Norel chipped in with 11 points and 6 rebounds. Zaragoza still must wait at least one more week to clinch a berth in the Last 32. Nancy dropped its fourth straight game and fell to 1-7 despite 16 points and 9 rebounds from Derwin Kitchen, while Florent Pietrus had 8 points and 12 rebounds. Benjamin Sene added 11 points and Andy Panko scored 10 points in the loss, which also saw Mickael Pietrus hit just 2-of-14 three-pointers in scoring 9 points in his Nancy debut.

Sene scored the game’s first basket for the guests and made it 0-4. Zaragoza missed its first 5 shots and turned the ball over twice before Bellas finally got the hosts on the scoreboard after nearly four minutes played. Bellas nailed a three-pointer to give Zaragoza its first lead 5-4. Nancy reclaimed the lead and Sene’s long ball made it 5-9. Sene scored nine of Nancy’s first 11 points and Mickael Pietrus knocked down a triple for a 9-14 advantage. Florent Pietrus’s free throws and put back pushed the cushion to 13-20 after 10 minutes. Sek Henry started the second quarter with a three-pointer and the deficit was down to 21-22 after Drake Diener’s triple. Zaragoza was back ahead on Nate Linhart’s three-point play to make it 26-24. Kitchen tallied 5 points to keep Nancy close at 31-31. Panko tied the game again at 37-37 for Nancy before Bandja Sy’s basket. Nancy went into the locker room ahead 39-42 thanks to Kitchen’s three-pointer at the halftime buzzer.

Sene opened the second half for a 39-44 lead before Zaragoza finally got on the scoreboard with Bella’s three-pointer after three minutes to make it 42-44. Mickael Pietrus’s three got the lead to 44-49 before Kitchen and Florent Pietrus free throws had Nancy up 46-54. Randal Falker’s basket made it 48-56 before Sastre took over the game with 2 free throws, a steal and layup, an assist and three-pointer in a 9-0 Zaragoza run for a 57-56 lead. Falker’s free throw evened the game 57-57 through three quarters. Jelovac scored 4 points for Zaragoza, while Nancy could not get any offensive rhythm going. Linhart’s basket increased the lead to 65-57 midway through the fourth quarter. Nancy missed its first 8 shots in the quarter and finally scored on Alexis Thomas free throws with 4:59 minutes to play. Panko’s triple cut the gap down to 65-62. The lead went back and forth between 3 and 5 points as Sastre scored two baskets, Norel put back a miss and Bellas hit 2 free throws to keep Zaragoza ahead. With the score 73-70, Mickael Pietrus was sent to the line in the waning seconds. After making the first free throw, he missed the second foul shot, but grabbed his own rebound only to see his three-pointer blocked by Sastre. Bellas made 2 more foul shots to ice the game.