Karsiyaka holds off late Ventspils rally

Pinar Karsiyaka Izmir completed a season sweep of Ventspils with a 71-67 victory on Wednesday. Jon Diebler scored all of his 17 points in the first half as the hosts jumped out to a 31-17 lead. However Ventspils rallied to within 6 at halftime and, after falling behind by 10 again, closed the gap to 1 at the end of the third quarter and again in the next-to-last minute of the game, but was unable to take the lead. Karsiyaka improved to 6-2 with the victory, while dropped to 2-6 and saw its Last 32 hopes take a hit. Bobby Dixon added 12 points and Juan Palacios tallied 10 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists for the winners. Mire Chatman paced Ventspils with 14 points and 7 rebounds.

Diebler opened the scoring with a three, but a pair of buckets from Chatman soon had Ventspils ahead. A Dixon three and Palacios bucket inside made it 10-6. Diebler scored 7 in a row as Karsiyaka jumped ahead 17-8. A Kenny Gabriel triple made it a double-digit game. After Davis Lejasmeiers scored inside for Ventspils, Inanc Koc split free throws to make it 21-12 after 10 minutes. Diebler and Chatman traded threes early in the second quarter. Dixon scored 5 quick points for a 31-17 lead midway through the quarter. Lejasmeiers took charge for the visitors with 5 points to get back within single digits. Chatman assisted Harvey Grant for a slam and then scored himself. Zanis Peiners’s dunk made it 37-32 before Dixon’s free throw left the hosts ahead 38-32 at the break.

D.J. Strawberry had Karsiyaka up 9 early in the second half, however Akselis Vairogs’s three-pointer and a Chatman jumper closed the gap to 43-39. Gabriel answered from downtown and Palacios scored too only to see Chatman fire in another three. Still Gabriel gave the hosts a 52-42 cushion. Back-to-back threes by Vairogs changed the momentum. Artis Arte was next to score from downtown as Ventspils finished the quarter on a 2-13 charge to get within 54-53. Free throws by Yunus Sonsirma and Dixon gave Karsiyaka some breathing room. After Grant answered from the line, Sonsirma buried a three for a 60-55 lead. Ventspils closed that gap in the closing minutes and Ate free throws made it 68-67. Baris Hersek came up big with a basket-plus-foul with 1:20 remaining and Ventspils was unable to score again.