Waczynski leads Unicaja past Cedevita
Unicaja Malaga remained undefeated in Top 16 Group H by downing Cedevita Zagreb 73-59 at home on Wednesday. Unicaja improved to 2-0 in Group H, while Cedevita dropped to 0-2. Adam Waczynski led the winners with 17 points on 5-of-6 three-point shooting, Nemanja Nedovic added 12 and 7 assists and Kyle Fogg scored 11 points for Unicaja. Ryan Boatright led Cedevita with 19 points and Rashad James added 18 for the visitors. Cedevita made only 8 of 27 shots from downtown (29.6%) and grabbed 6 offensive rebounds, its fewest in the 7DAYS EuroCup this season. Cedevita kept its options open midway through the fourth quarter when it trailed 59-55, but Waczynski stepped up in crunch time to lead Unicaja to an important win. Next week Unicaja visits Valencia Basket with first place on the line, while Cedevita heads to ALBA Berlin.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Waczynski gave Unicaja an early 8-5 lead. It didn't last long, however, as Boatright struck twice from downtown in a 0-10 run that gave Cedevita an 8-15 margin. Waczynski hit another one from beyond the arc and Dejan Musli added a layup, but free throws by James kept the visitors on top 13-17 after 10 minutes. Toni Katic buried a three-pointer, Mirza Begic added a big basket in the low post and John Shurna made a layup for a 17-25 margin. Unicaja found a go-to guy in Fogg, who nailed back-to-back triples. He got help from Dani Diez to bring Unicaja within 25-29. Katic scored again and Luka Babic added a running hook, but Nedovic and Carlos Suarez fueled a 9-0 run, which Alberto Diaz capped with a corner three-pointer that restored a 36-33 Unicaja edge at halftime. Unicaja improved its defense after the break and found a new go-to guy in Dejan Musli, who followed a three-point play with a layup that made it a double-digit game, 44-34. James and Boatright tried to change things for Cedevita, but Fogg and an unstoppable Nedovic kept Unicaja comfortably ahead, 52-43, at the end of the third quarter. Boatright scored early in the fourth quarter, added free throws and struck from downtown. He got help from James, who followed a dunk with a triple to make it 59-55 midway through the fourth quarter. Jeff Brooks answered from beyond the arc and a layup by Suarez gave Unicaja plenty of fresh air at 64-55. Cedevita struggled to score when it mattered most. Meanwhile, Waczynski buried another triple, added free throws and collected a steal that allowed Fogg to round out Unicaja's win in style.
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Eurocupbasketball.com