Belgacom Spirou defeated Partizan mt:s 84-79

Belgacom Spirou foiled plans by Partizan mt:s to enter the Top 16 with an 84-79 win at the SpirouDome in Charleroi, Belgium, on Thursday night. The victory – Spirou’s first at home this season – lifted the team’s record to 2-6, however it was not enough to keep the Belgian champs’ hopes of reaching the Top 16 alive. Partizan dropped to 4-4, but will advance to the next stage with a win in either of its remaining games. looked outmatched until the middle of the second quarter, when it used an 18-8 run to finish the half within 37-38, and then outscored Partizan 47-41 in the second half to claim the win. The hosts were led by Demond Mallet, who scored 22 points, while Tornike Shengelia contributed a career-high 17 points, Chris Hill added 15 and Jiri Welsch 13. Partizan was paced by Acie Law’s 22 points. Milan Macvan added 10 points and 12 rebounds and Rasko Katic, Dusan Kecman and Miroslav Raduljica also netted 10 each. Although Spirou was outshot by Partizan it used defensive pressure to make the difference, recording 10 steals to Partizan’s 3 and committing 10 fewer turnovers.

After a slow start for both teams Justin Hamilton downed a three to put Sprirou out front 7-2. The hosts added points from outside on two-pointers by Welsch and Andre Riddick, while Partizan kept pounding it inside as both Raduljica and Macvan scored down low to set the score at 11-6. The visitors got foul shots, followed by a Macvan post-up in the lane and a driving layup by Law to take their first lead, 11-12. Caleb Green knocked down 2 free throws, but Partizan closed the quarter with a 6-0 run to take a 13-18 lead.

Partizan took control of the game early in the second quarter, led by Dragan Milosavljevic and Kecman, who hit 8 of the team’s 10 opening points to take a 17-28 lead. Welsch and Raduljica exchanged baskets, then Mallet came alive with a triple to slice the deficit to 22-30. Green helped the hosts chip away to 25-32 with a finger roll to finish off a fast-break. A split free throw and jumpers by Hill and Mallet answered a three-pointer by Vladimir Lucic, which kept Spirou close 30-35. Partizan’s Petar Bozic hit a triple, but Mallet exploded for 7 more points, including another three-pointer to end the half, as the host’s pulled to 37-38.

Mallet nailed a triple right out the gate as Spirou opened the third with a 7-0 run to take its first lead 44-41. Shengelia asserted himself inside to push the lead to 47-41. Law got 4 points on drives to the basket, then Macvan banked it in down low as Partizan reclaimed the lead at 47-48. Scoring swayed in favor of Spriou on consecutive baskets by Mallet, Welsch and Green, then Kecman buried a triple to keep Partizan close, 53-51. The next 7 points belonged to the hosts on scoring by Welsch and Shengelia, to give Spirou a 60-51 margin. Points poured in quickly from both sides in the last three minutes of the quarter, but the last basket – a triple by Hill at the buzzer – set Spirou’s lead at 69-61.

Partizan came up with the next surge as it scored the first 6 points of the final quarter to cut the lead to 69-67. Shengelia answered with a triple, but Rasko Katic put Partizan on top 72-73 with a baseline hook shot and a layup. Then after Shengelia made 2 free throws, Hill drained a three-pointer plus a foul shot to keep Spirou in front 78-73. After layups by Milosavljevic and Law cut the lead to 79-77 with two minutes to go, the game turned into a free-throw contest, but Spirou outscored its opponent 5-2 on the line to seal a hard-fought victory, 84-79.