Banvit Bandirma holds off Buducnost

Banvit Bandirma won its second game in a row and avenged a season-opening loss at Buducnost VOLI Podgorica with a 76-68 victory over the Montenegrin champs on Wednesday evening. Gasper Vidmar scored 18 points and Adrien Moerman posted 11 points and 14 rebounds for Banvit, which improved to 3-3. The result dropped Buducnost to 2-4, but it did manage to salvage the potential tiebreaker between the teams because it won their Round 1 clash by 13. The hosts used a 10-0 run that bridged the first and second quarters to take the lead for good and an 11-0 run to finish the second for a 45-26 halftime advantage. Buducnost rallied late to get within 5, but ran out of steam in the closing minutes. A.J. Slaughter added 15 points and Courtney Forston 12 for the victors. Suad Sehovic paced Buducnost with 23 points on 6-of-10 three-point shooting and Tadija Dragicevic added 17 points in defeat.

Nemanja Jaramaz opened the scoring for Buducnost with a three-pointer before Vidmar’s basket-and-foul got the hosts on the scoreboard. The teams traded buckets throughout the first quarter until Forston nailed a three and then made 2 of 4 free throws in a 5-0 push to end the first quarter at 21-16. Nusret Yildirim and Moerman turned it into a 10-0 run. Free throws by Bojan Subotic and a Sead Sehovic triple gave Buducnost hope, but threes by Yildirim and Slaughter kept the hosts in control. Slaughter scored 5 points in an 11-0 run to finish the half that gave Banvit a commanding 45-26 advantage.

Dragicevic opened the second half with a three-pointer, but it didn’t take long for a Courtney Fells three to give Banvit a 20-point advantage. However Suad Sehovic nailed 3 triples in a 2-12 surge that closed the gap to 53-43. Sead Sehovic made it an 8-point game, but a Moerman tip in made it 57-47 and after neither team scored for more than two minutes, that’s how the third quarter ended. Baskets by Jackie Carmichael and Slaughter boosted the difference to 14, but Buducnost fought back. It was 69-54 after a Slaughter free throw with three and a half minutes to play. Omar Cook connected from downtown for his first points and soon Suad Sehovic sank his fifth and sixth triple to bring Buducnost within 73-66 with 100 seconds to go. Jaramaz made it a 5-point game from the line, but the visitors ran out of steam and a Slaughter free throw all but wrapped up the game.