Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia advances after beating Le Mans

Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia booked its spot in the Eurocup Last 32 by beating Le Mans Sarthe Basket 71-87 on the road for its third straight win in Group B. Darjus Lavrinovic paced five Reggio Emilia players in double figures with 20 points, while fellow Lithuanian veteran Rimantas Kaukenas added 15 points as Emilia improved to 6-3 in the group. Vladimir Veremeenko had 14 points, Pietro Aradori scored 13 points and Achille Polonara chipped in 10 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks for the winners. Le Mans saw its two-game winning streak end to fall to 3-6. Tywain McKee led the way with 24 points, while Mickael Gelabale scored 16 points, Robert Dozier had 10 points and Mouphtaou Yarou collected 6 points and 12 rebounds in the loss.

Lahaou Konate started the scoring for the hosts with free throws. Polonara evened the game and Aradori’s three point play gave Reggio Emilia its first lead 2-5. Veremeenko increased the margin to 6-10. McKee eventually knotted the game again at 13-13 after back-to-back baskets. A second three-pointer by McKee made it 16-15. The Lithuanian duo of Lavrinovic and Kaukenas put Reggio Emilia back ahead 16-19. Amedeo Della Valle’s triple and another Kaukenas score had the guests up 18-24 after 10 minutes. Dozier and Gelabale both trimmed the deficit to 4 before Aradori’s three-pointer had Reggio Emilia up 22-29. A Veremeenko score made it 24-31, but Reggio Emilia needed a time out when Petr Cornelie put back an offensive rebound for Le Mans to cut it to 29-33. Lavrinovic came out of the timeout with a three-point play and 2 free throws to have Reggio Emilia leading 31-38 at intermission.

Dozier started the second half by trimming the deficit to 33-38, but Reggio Emilia began to pull away with a pair of Polonara baskets and another score from Veremeenko to go ahead 33-44. Gelabale and McKee got Le Mans to within 37-44, but Della Valle responded with a triple to re-establish a 10-point lead and Aradori scored 5 straight points for a 37-52 advantage. McKee followed with a three-pointer and another basket to trim the margin to 42-53. Reggio Emilia continued to score – with 4 points by Lavrinovic – to keep Le Mans at bay despite the efforts of Gelabale and McKee, who couldn’t keep the hosts from trailing 48-61 after 30 minutes. Lavrinovic scored the first 4 points of the fourth quarter as the lead swelled to 48-65. McKee’s three-pointer trimmed the deficit to 55-69 and a free throw from Yarou had Le Mans within 60-73. Polonara increased the gap to 62-78 with four minutes to play. Chris Lofton came up with a put-back and a three-pointer as Le Mans had one more push and trimmed the margin to 67-78. Reggio Emilia however responded with scores on its next three possessions, including a Della Valle triple for a 67-85 advantage with two minutes left to put all doubts aside.