Harangody's block lifts Joventut at home
In a thriller that went down to the buzzer, Joventut Badalona outlasted Nanterre 92 for a 79-77 victory at home on Wednesday to improve to 4-2 in Group C. Nanterre dropped to 2-4. Nenad Dimitrijevic led the winners with 23 points and 5 assists, Alen Omic added 12 points and Luke Harangody scored 10 and had a game-saving block at the buzzer. Spencer Butterfield led Nanterre with 16 points, Devin Oliver added 14 while Kenny Chery, Dallas Moore and Youssoupha Ndoye each scored 11 for Nanterre. Ndoye posted 10 rebounds for a double-double. The visitors led 59-64 entering the fourth quarter before Harangody put Joventut ahead, 76-75, with 2:55 left. Moore gave Nanterre the lead but a critical three-point play by Dimitrijevic and a final block by Harangody gave Joventut the victory.
Omic got Joventut going with a put-back layup and a jump hook, but Chery and Smith quickly tied the game, 4-4. Conor Morgan took over with a three-point play and Xabi Lopez-Arostegui added a dunk for a 9-6 Joventut lead. Chery struck from downtown, but Nanterre entered the foul penalty early in the quarter, which allowed Dimitrijevic and Nikos Zisis to give Joventut a 14-11 lead. Butterfield followed a jumper with a triple to give Nanterre its first lead, 14-16. Butterfield kept pushing the visitors, getting help from Oliver to give their team a 16-24 margin after 10 minutes. Omic scored down low early in the second quarter and a backdoor layup by Dimitrijevic kept Joventut within 20-26. Dimitrijevic bettered Tony Da Silva's floater with a three-pointer and a layup by Zisis brought the hosts within 25-28. Lopez-Arostegui stepped up with a fastbreak layup which Ventura followed with a triple that tied it at 30-30. Chery and Smith rescued Nanterre, but Morgan kept Joventut within 34-36 at halftime.
Damien Bouquet hit a jump hook right after the break and Chery added a jumper for a 35-40 Nanterre lead. Dimitrijevic followed a three-point play with a floater and soon added a jumper to tie the game, 42-42. Bouquet scored in penetration and Oliver added a layup, but Harangody kept the hosts within 47-48. Moore stepped up with a layup, Butterfield buried a second-chance triple and Ndoye added a three-point play for a 52-58 Nanterre margin. A corner three-pointer by Moore soon made it a double-digit game, 52-62, after a 2-12 run. Dimitrijevic and Ventura fueled a 7-0 Joventut run, but a jumper by Ndoye fixed the score at 59-64 after 30 minutes. Dimitrijevic kept pacing the hosts early in the fourth quarter, but Oliver followed a floater with a triple for a 62-69 Nanterre lead. Omic and Zisis tried to change things for Joventut, but an unstoppable Ndoye kept Nanterre in charge, 67-73. Omic dunked, Ventura scored around the basket and Harandody buried a triple to make it 74-75. Harangody completed the hosts' comeback at 76-75 with less than 3 minutes left. Moore hit free throws and Joventut got the ball back with 24 seconds left. Dimitrijevic took over with a wild three-point play with 4.6 seconds left. Nanterre had a chance to take the game to overtime, but Harangody had a big block on Oliver at the buzzer!
Pivotal performer
Dimitrijevic had a career night on a day Joventut needed extra points without top gun Klemen Prepelic. He finished the game with 23 points on 6-of-6 two-point shooting, 2-of-4 on three-pointers and 5-of-6 on free throws. Dimitrijevic added a rebound, 5 assists, 2 steals and 7 fouls drawn for a PIR of 29.
Game-changing moment
Nanterre entered the final seconds with a 76-77 lead, but Dimitrijevic went past his defender, scored in penetration, drew a foul and made the additional free throw. Nanterre found an open Oliver, but Harangody stood in his way with a big block that sealed the outcome at the buzzer.
Stellar stat
In a very balanced game, taking better care of the ball made the difference. Joventut had 19 assists and just 11 turnovers. Nanterre had almost the same number of turnovers (12), but finished the game with 11 assists.
Did you notice?
Incredibly enough, it was Harangody's first block of the EuroCup season, but it was good enough to give Joventut its first win. Harangody has 9 blocks in 45 EuroCup career games, that is, one every five showdowns.
Next game
Both teams return to 7DAYS EuroCup action next week. Nanterre hosts Darussafaka Tekfen Istanbul on Tuesday, November 12. A day later, Joventut visits Germani Brescia Leonessa.
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
Eurocupbasketball.com