Limoges sinks RETAbet in Bilbao

Limoges CSP went on the road and led for almost all of the 40 minutes to eventually hold off RETAbet Bilbao Basket 91-98 on Wednesday night at Bilbao Arena. Both teams now have 1-1 record in Group C. Limoges took a double-digit lead early, and apart from REATbet briefly jumping to a slim lead at the start of the third quarter, the visitors kept REATbet at bay the entire night, led by a balanced attack that saw seven players score in double-digits while breaking the club single-game record for points scored in a game. Big man Mam Jaiteh paced the winner with 17 points without a miss. Brian Conklin and Kenny Hayes added 14 apiece, Josh Carter netted 12, Danny Gibson and William Howard each scored 11, while Axel Bouteille contributed 10 points for Limoges. Dejan Todorovic led REATbet with 19 points and Alex Mumbru added 14, Lucio Redivo 11, and Shane Hammink 10 in limited minutes for the hosts.

The visitors stormed out of the gate, with Gibson scoring 9 points in helping Limoges to a 4-17 lead. Mumbru and Redivo hit back-to-back three-point shots, before Todorovic hit a triple and made a three-point play. Another Mumbru triple cut the deficit to 25-27. But Hayes beat the first-quarter buzzer, and Carter had a triple and a basket-plus-foul that put Limoges up 31-39 in the second quarter. Conklin opened 36-45 margin, however Pere Tomas made a four-point play, and Axel Hervelle opened his account but knocking down a three in the final seconds of the half, making it 48-53 at the break.

Mumbru and Todorovic nailed triples to open the third quarter, and Todorovic’s three-point play after a huge dunk made it 57-53. A 9-0 run was snapped with a dunk by Carter, as he and Jaiteh helped Limoges answer with a 2-9 run of its own. The teams traded leads, before Jaiteh made consecutive baskets to keep Limoges with a slim lead, and Howard’s triple helped the visitors take a 72-78 lead after three quarters. A.J. English had a put-back and Bouteille knocked down a triple for Limoges, while Hammink single-handedly kept REATbet close by scoring 6 points. A fastbreak layup from Tomas cut it to 80-84 with five minutes left. But after a timeout, Howard made a triple and Hayes a long jumper, extending the margin to 80-89. REATbet kept threatening through Mickell Gladness inside and Todorovic’s step-back triple, before Hervelle hit a turnaround baseline jumper to get within 91-93. However, Hayes nailed a jump shot with 36 seconds left, and after the visitors made a quick defensive stand, Howard sealed the outcome with another triple.