Big fourth quarter carries Gran Canaria past Nanterre

Herbalife Gran Canaria used a big fourth quarter to pull away from Nanterre 92 and register a comfortable 94-82 victory at home. Amedeo Della Valle scored 15 points to pace six scorers in double figures for Gran Canaria, which improved to 2-0 in Group D. Matt Costello collected 14 points and 11 rebounds, John Shurna had 14 points, Stanley Okoye added 13, Frankie Ferrari tallied 12 points and 7 assists and Jacob Wiley finished with 10 points. Gran Canaria trailed by 2 points going into the fourth quarter but took the final frame 31-17 for the win. Tyler Stone scored 21 points for Nanterre, which dropped to 1-1. Chris Warren, Brian Conklin and Alpha Kaba all chipped in 10 points in the loss.

Stone opened the scoring for the visitors with Andrew Albicy hitting first for Gran Canaria. Johnny Berhanemeskel made the first of 3 straight three-pointers for Nanterre and added another triple to complete a 3-14 run to move ahead 11-21. Nanterre was held scoreless for nearly 3 minutes and Costello had 6 points in an 11-0 answer as Gran Canaria moved ahead 22-21. The score was 22-24 after 10 minutes. Damien Bouquet came off the Nanterre bench in the second quarter and provided a major spark with 7 points in a 4-12 spurt for a 30-38 lead. The visitors still led 38-40 at the break.

Early in the second half, Gran Canaria scored 8 straight points thanks to back-to-back three-pointers by Javier Beiran and Shurna for a 48-44 lead. Stone answered with a pair of triples in a 0-10 surge and Conklin scored 6 points as Nanterre moved back ahead 56-62. Ferrari punched back with 3 free throws and a three-pointer as Gran Canaria nosed ahead only to see Chris Warren knock down a buzzer-beating three for a 63-65 lead after 30 minutes. Nanterre was held scoreless for the first 2 minutes of the fourth quarter and baskets from Shurna had Gran Canaria ahead 69-65. Isaia Cordinier hit a triple to get the visitors on the board, but Okoye drained back-to-back triples and it was 75-68. Stone answered from the outside at the other end, but Okoye buried another triple and Costello added 2 threes in a 15-1 run for a 92-74 margin to decide the game for good.

Gran Canarias shooters wake up in second half

Gran Canaria made just 1 of 9 three-pointers in the first half, but were on fire in the second half, connecting on 10 of 15 to finish 11 of 24 (45.8%).

Debut for 17-year-old talent Montero

The game saw the EuroCup debut of Gran Canaria’s prized talent Jean Montero, who played 2:42 minutes and picked up 1 assist while missing his one three-pointer and committing 2 turnovers. The 17-year-old Dominic guard was named MVP of Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Valencia last December.

Telling numbers

Nanterre was even better in the game from the outside, hitting 14-of-27 three-pointers (51.9%), but it connected on just 38.1% of the team's two-pointers, while Gran Canaria made 64.1% inside the three-point stripe.

Next games

Gran Canaria will next head out on the road and take on Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana on Tuesday, October 13, hoping to improve to 3-0. Nanterre returns home and will welcome Dolomiti Energia Trento the same evening.