Olympiacos dominates second half to beat Limoges

After trailing at halftime, Olympiacos Piraeus dominated the second half and put the game away with an 18-0 fourth-quarter run to beat Limoges CSP 75-49 at Peace and Friendship Stadium on Thursday. The Reds outscored the French champs 47-20 in the second half to improve to 3-1 and maintain a share of first place in Group A. The loss dropped Limoges to 1-3. Georgios Printezis led a balanced Olympiacos attack with 15 points and both Vassilis Spanoulis and Patric Young posted double doubles. Spanoulis totaled 10 points and 10 assists and Young amassed 13 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks. D.J. Strawberry and Vangelis Mantzaris starred in the late run. Strawberry finished with 12 points in just 16 minutes and Mantzaris had 10 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Randy Culpepper led Limoges with 10 points and Frejus Zerbo scored 9 in defeat.

First quarter: Limoges starts slow, but rallies for narrow lead

Spanoulis found Printezis in the paint for the game’s first basket. Printezis added a one-handed shot in the paint before Young dunked in a missed Ioannis Papapetrou layup for a 6-0 start. More than two minutes passed before Frejus Zerbo, after having his first shot rejected by Young, scored Limoges’s first points. After a series of misses on both ends, Leo Westermann banked in a runner. Spanoulis scored in the low post to make it 8-4. Westermann assisted on a Zerbo jumper, but Spanoulis drove for a three-point play. Ali Traore came in and drew a foul, but missed twice from the line. Printezis’s spin move inside sent the hosts to a 13-6 lead. Traore scored in the next possession, but then fouled Matt Lojeski, who split free throws. Culpepper assisted Traore inside, but Michalis Tsairelis tipped in his own miss for a 16-10 lead. Heiko Schaffartzik came up with a steal and though he missed a layup, Payne was there for the follow slam. D.J. Strawberry leapt for a defensive rebound, but accidentally knocked it into his own net. Culpepper’s triple gave Limoges its first lead, 16-17, at the end of the quarter.

Second quarter: Visitors defense keeps it ahead

Defenses provided the highlights with some missed layups also accounting for an offensive slowdown. Payne knocked down a three, but nearly four minutes passed until Traore scored for a 16-22 Limoges lead midway through the quarter. Young ended a nearly eight-minute long drought for the Reds with a basket-plus-foul. After Zerbo split free throws, Ioannis Athinaiou drained a triple and Printezis tied the score with a shot off the glass. Athinaiou’s second three restored the Reds lead, 26-23. But Zerbo’s dunk and will Daniels’s layup in transition put Limoges back ahead. Printezis’s put-back and Daniels’s layup left the French champs with a 28-29 lead at the break.

Third quarter: Spanoulis heats up and Strawberry finishes strong

Spanoulis ran the pick-and-roll with Young, which resulted in a layup for the latter. Spanoulis hit a step-back three in transition to get the hosts going. Daniels connected on a jumper, but Printezis also drilled a three as the Reds went ahead 36-31. Limoges did not fall apart; Schaffartzik’s triple kept the pressure one. Spanoulis sliced up the Limoges defense for a layup and Lojeski buried a jumper for a 6-point cushion. Zerbo’s put-back proved Limoges’s fighting spirit, but Daniel Hackett’s layup and Nikola Milutinov’s slam boosted the advantage to 44-36. Schaffartzik connected from downtown and after Printezis free throws, Culpepper also made a three. But the final minute of the quarter would belong to Strawberry, whose layup and incredible basket-plus-foul gave the Reds a comfortable 51-42 advantage.

Fourth quarter: Strawberry and Mantzaris lead game-clinching 18-0 run

Strawberry assisted Young on a three-point play that extended the lead to double figures. Culpepper got 4 points back for the visitors from the foul line, but Spanoulis’s 10th assist came on a Young dunk. Young remained a point of reference inside by drawing fouls and adding free throws. Vangelis Mantzaris scored from the line for a 14-point lead. Strawberry started a fast break with a steal and finished with a layup. Then Young’s blocked shot ignited another break that Strawberry finished for a 64-46 lead midway through the quarter. Mantzaris connected on back-to-back three pointers and then a layup to cap an 18-0 charge that ended the game with a few minutes to spare.