Alba beats Khimik, leads Group N

In a battle between previously undefeated teams in Group N, Alba Berlin defeated Khimik Yuzhne 87-71 in the German capital on Wednesday. Alba now leads Group N with a 3-0 record, with Khimik right behind at 2-1. Reggie Redding and Leon Radosevic paced the winners with 15 points apiece. Redding added a game-high 7 assists. David Logan added 14 points, Vojdan Stojanovski had 13 while Levon Kendall got 10. Romeo Travis led Khimik with 24 points and 8 rebounds. Rolands Freimanis added 15 points for the guests. Redding shined early in the game, allowing Alba to get a 19-13 lead after 10 minutes. Khimik found a go-to guy in Freimanis, who get help from Travis and Jamal Shuler to give the guests a 36-41 edge near halftime. A 9-0 run that Redding capped with a triple put Alba back ajead, 42-41, but Khimik stayed in the game and trailed 58-56 late in the third quarter. Stojanovski had 8 points in a game-breaking 13-0 run which made Alba get the lead for good, 71-56. The hosts boosted their margin to 81-63 and never looked back.

Cliff Hammonds got Alba going with a layup and Radosevic soon gave the hosts a 5-2 lead. Oleksandr Riabchuk sank a jumper and free throws by Matt Gatens tied it at 6-6. Sergiy Popov scored off a steal to give Khimik its first lead, 7-8. Redding stepped up with 6 quick points, as he got help from Stojanovski and Akeem Vargas to give Alba a 17-11 lead. Travis and an unstoppable Redding traded jumpers to fix the score at 19-13 after 10 minutes. Travis scored again early in the second quarter but back-to-back baskets by Kendall made it an eight-point game, 23-15. Shuler found his first points and Riabchuk hit a triple but Vargas gave Alba some fresh air at 25-20. It didn't last long, however, as Freimanis followed a three-pointer with a layup and Riabchuk put Khimik back ahead, 27-28. Hammonds answered from downtown but free throws by Gatens and Freimanis tied it at 32-32. An unstoppable Freimanis got help from Travis to give Khimik a 36-41 lead. A layup by Kendall brought Alba within 38-41 at halftime.

Kendall hit a jumper right after the break and Radosevic put Alba back ahead, 42-41. Redding capped a 9-0 Alba run with a three-pointer but a layup-plus-foul by Freimanis and a jumper by Travis made Khimik regain the lead, 45-46. Hammonds scored around the basket and Radosevic gave Alba some fresh air at 50-46. Travis struck from downtown and Freimanis matched Radosevic's layup with free throws for a 52-51 score. Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann and Logan stepped up for Alba but Travis kept Khimik within 58-56. Free throws by Logan gave Alba a 60-56 edge after 30 minutes. Stojanovski buried a triple early in the fourth quarter and a layup by Radosevic made Khimik call timeout at 65-56. Khimik kept struggling to score and Alba found a new go-to guy in Stojanovski, who boosted the hosts' lead to 71-56, after a 13-0 run. Travis made free throws but Logan did better with a three-pointer. Logan stayed on fire, as Alba boosted its margin to 79-61 and had plenty of time to celebrate another win in Last 32 Group N.