Long range fire lifts Radnicki over Strasbourg

Radnicki Kragujevac hit 13 triples for its premier Last 32 victory, downing Strasbourg 92-82 on Wednesday. Both teams now hold 1-3 record in the third place of Group N, and Radnicki holds a potential tie-breaker by overcoming last week’s 4-point loss. Meanwhile, their opponents Khimik Youzhne and ALBA Berlin had their game postponed earlier Wednesday due to weather conditions. Strasbourg's Bootsy Thornton and Antoine Diot hit 5 consecutive triples in the opening 6 minutes of the game, but Radnicki quickly regrouped and with 3 consecutive three-pointers of its own regained the lead. The hosts had 46-42 at halftime and kept that lead until Axel Toupane hit three long range daggers in the third quarter. Strasbourg entered the final 10 minutes up 65-67, but the hosts opened the fourth period with three more triples, and when Marko Brkic and Marko Marinovic each hit one more from downtown, Radnicki pulled away to 84-73 and never looked back. Milos Dimic paced the winners with 19 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, while Dusan Mladjan netted 15 points. Marinovic had 13 points and 9 assists, Brkic also scored 13, while Sava Lesic added 10 for Radnicki. Thornton finished with 21 points for the visitors, and Diot hit 5 triples to score 20. David Andersen in his debut for Strasbourg scored 11, the same as Toupane, while Louis Campbell contributed with 10 in defeat.

At the start of the game, Marinovic dished to Milos Dimic and Brkic for 6-2 lead, but Thornton sank three triples, and Diot nailed a pair from downtown for 8-17 visitors' advantage. Nikola Kalinic snapped a 2-15 run, and with Dimic from close range, and Marinovic from long range, the hosts quickly tied it at 19-19. Andersen scored inside and from the distance to end the first quarter, and had another layup at the start of the second, giving Strasbourg 21-26. But Dimic and Marinovic scored for Radnicki, before Dusan Mladjan, Stefan Bircevic and Nikola Jevtovic each nailed a triple on consecutive possessions and 35-30. The visitors were only scoring through Thornton’s free throws, before Mladjan hit another one behind the arc, and Radenko Pilcevic added a layup for 42-34. Diot scored a layup and a triple on the other end, but the hosts still took 46-42 into halftime.

In the third quarter, Thornton had a pair of jumpers, before Toupane sank his first triple that helped tie it at 51-51. Kalinic hit from long range for Radnicki to start a run of 7 consecutive points, keeping the hosts with the lead. After another three from Toupane, Sava Lesic added to the hosts’ tally with a put-back, and Dimic hit a triple for 63-57. But Diot answered with a three-pointer of his own, Ricardo Greer scored a second-chance layup, and Toupane finished the quarter with a corner triple for 65-67 after 30 minutes. Radnicki opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back three-pointers from Mladjan and Marinovic, and after Brkic hit from long range Radnicki grabbed 74-69 advantage. Toupane and Andersen scored inside for the visitors, but top of the key three-pointer from Brkic extended it 8 points, and after a visitors’ timeout, Marinovic buried it from the distance for the first double-digit margin of the night, 84-73. Diot hit a triple for Strasbourg, before Louis Campbell and Paul Lacombe cut it to 88-82 in the final minute. But Lesic had a dunk, and Mladjan hit an off balance runner sealing the deal.