EA7 Milan rallies late for big win

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan used a big fourth quarter and a 16-1 run to pull away from PGE Turow Zgorzelec and secure a 90-71 win on Thursday night. It was the first home win of the season for Milan, which improved to 2-3 in Group C, while Turow dropped to 1-4. Milan opened a 26-16 lead in the first quarter with Joe Ragland leading the way, before Turow rallied in the second to get within40-38 at halftime. Ragland hit a couple more threes to open a 55-42 lead, but Nemanja Jaramaz and Damian Kulig sparked a 1-15 Turow charge and the Polish champs took a 58-59 lead in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. However, Milan stepped it up on defense in the fourth quarter, while Marshon Brooks and Alessandro Gentile got hot with each player hitting a couple three-point shots, fueling a 16-1 run as Milan pulled away for good. Ragland scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half and shot 5 of 7 from three-point range. Gentile netted 19 points and Samardo Samuels collected 15 points plus 8 rebounds. David Moss had 12 points and 8 boards, while Brooks finished with 10 points in victory. Tony Taylor had 15 and Jaramaz 14 points for the visitors. Chris Wright and Kulig added 12 apiece, and Mardy Collins scored 10 in a losing effort.

First quarter: Ragland’s triples lift Milan to a 10-point lead

Jaramaz drove for a layup to start the scoring, before Ragland nailed a triple to get Milan on the board. Gentile made a strong move to the basket to make it 5-4. Collins converted a fast break for Turow, but Moss and Ragland again sank three-pointers for an 11-6 lead. Kulig scored a put-back and then dished an assist for a layup by Collins. A pair of second-chance baskets from Samuels made it 15-10. Milan dominated the offensive boards early on, and one of those led to Ragland's three-pointer an an 8-point advantage. Melli cut twice to the baskets for a pair of baskets to increase the lead, while Wright had a put-back dunk for Turow and Jaramaz added a couple of free throws to make it 26-16.

Second quarter: Turow rallies behind its defense

Collins made a floater and Kulig hit a long jumper to close within 26-20. The visitors only allowed a pair of free throws in the first four minutes of the quarter, while Taylor drove for an easy layup and Vlad Moldoveanu nailed a wide open three-pointer. Jaramaz fed Kulig for a basket inside to get Turow within 28-27, and another layup from Kulig tied it at 29-29. When Gentile scored a layup, he snapped Milan's drought of more than six minutes without a field goal, but a layup from Moldoveanu, after some nifty passing, gave Turow a 31-33 lead. Ragland and Moldoveanu traded driving layups, before Ragland made a back-door cut for a basket-plus-foul and a 38-35 edge. Taylor answered with a driving layup-plus-free throw of his own. Gentile sank a short baseline jumper to give Milan 40-38 halftime lead.

Third quarter: Turow catches up with a 0-9 charge

Taylor sank a jumper to start the second half, but Ragland replied with his fourth three-pointer. Samuels scored inside, and Ragland nailed his fifth from the outside, 48-40. Hackett extended the lead to 10 points, and after a dunk from Wright, Hackett from close range and Melli from long range opened a 55-42 lead. Jaramaz took it to the hoop twice, getting free throws on his first drive, and laying it up on his second, and he sank a three-pointer to get to 58-51. Taylor continued the run sinking a pair of free throws, then Kulig scored a fastbreak layup, and drove for a dunk. Turow finished the quarter with a 1-13 run, scoring the last 9 points to get within 58-57.

Fourth quarter: Milan steps up on defense, hits threes to pull away

A tip-in from Wright gave Turow a 58-59 lead at the start of the fourth quarter, but Samuels had a put-back of his own missed free throw, before a driving layup from Collins made it 61-61. Brooks nailed a triple, and sparked a big Milan run as Samuels scored inside, before Brooks and Gentile each hit a three-pointer to make it 72-61. Another three from Gentile and tip-in from Brooks extended the difference to 77-62. Milan held the visitors to a single point for almost six minutes, before Taylor made both free throws to snap a 16-1 run. Gentile drove the lane for a layup and a 79-64 cushion before Taylor and Jaramaz made foul shots for the visitors. Moss nailed a three-pointer to push the margin back to 15 points, before Wright ended Turow’s drought of eight minutes without a field goal. Moss scored from close-range, and added a pair of layups in the final minute to close it out.