Reyer holds off Promitheas on the road

Umana Reyer Venice recorded its first road win in Top 16 Group F by downing Promitheas Patras 68-70 in Greece on Tuesday. Reyer improved to 2-1 in the standings while Promitheas dropped to 1-2. Mitchell Watt led the winners with 17 points on 8-for-9 two-point shooting. Stefano Tonut added 15 for Reyer. Octavius Ellis led Promitheas with 21 points. Oleksandr Lypovyy added 14 while Dimitris Agravanis had 11 for the hosts. Jeremy Chappell struck twice from downtown in the first quarter, getting help from Watt and Austin Daye to give Reyer a 17-23 lead after 10 minutes. Michael Bramos and Valerio Mazzola helped the guests boost their margin to 25-39 but Babb and Agravanis brought Promitheas closer, 35-44, at halftime. Tonut took over after the break, leading a 0-9 run to a 40-55 Reyer lead. Ellis and Agravanis stepped up for the hosts, bringing Promitheas within 50-58 after 30 minutes. Dimitris Katsivelis capped a 16-0 run that tied the game, 58-58, early in the fourth quarter. Julyan Stone and Watt rescued Reyer in crunch time but Promitheas stayed within 68-69 with 15.2 seconds to go. Tonut split free throws and Chris Babb missed from downtown almost at the buzzer.

Ike Udanoh got Reyer going with a layup and Watt dunked before Ellis and Vangelis Mantzaris answered for a 4-4 tie. Chappell struck from downtown and Tonut added a jumper for a 6-9 Reyer lead. Ellis and Watt exchanged jump hooks, then a backdoor layup by Udanoh boosted the guests' lead to 8-13. Lypovyy hit a driving layup and Ellis a three-point play but Watt, Chappell and Daye kept Reyer in charge, 17-23 after 10 minutes. Despite Lypovyy's off-balance fastbreak basket early in the second quarter, Ariel Filloy and Daye scored and Bramos hit from deep twice for a huge 23-36 lead. Mazzola joined the three-point shootout before Ellis was joined by Babb, Agravanis and Mantzaris to bring the hosts within 35-44 at halftime. Langston Hall downed a reverse layup and Agravanis a bomb from downtown to get Promitheas as close as 40-46 early in the third quarter. Tonut had 7 points in a 0-9 run that boosted Reyer's lead to 40-55. Back came Promitheas, however, as Ellis ignited the crowd with a wild alley-oop dunk and was joined by Mantzaris and Agravanis in cutting the difference to 50-58 after 30 minutes. Agravanis and Lypovyy opened the final quarter cutting it closer, 54-58. Lypovyy then hit a bank shot and Katsevlis a layup to tie 58-58 after a 16-0 run. Stone rescued Reyer with a three-pointer and Watt added consecutive baskets to make Promitheas call timeout at 60-65 with 4 minutes left. Ellis dunked again but so did Watt for a 64-67 score in the next-to-last minute. Hall split free throws but Tonut did better with a fastbreak layup for a 65-69 Reyer lead with 24.5 seconds left. Lypovyy buried a three-pointer and Promitheas fouled on Tonut with 10.9 seconds to go. He split free throws but Babb missed from downtown at the other end.

Pivotal performer

Tonut took over in the second half, scoring 7 points in a 0-9 run and the final 3 points of his team down the stretch. He finished the game with a career-high 15 points on 4 perfect two-pointers and 2 of 3 triples, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and a foul drawn for a PIR of 15, another personal best.

Game-changing moment

A 16-0 run allowed Promitheas to tie the game, 58-58, midway through the fourth quarter. Julyan Stone, who had been scoreless until then, swished a three-pointer and then Watt scored three times in the paint, including a reverse layup that allowed Reyer to stay ahead and eventually win the game on Tonut's late heroics.

Stellar stat

Reyer limited Promitheas to just 3-of-20 shooting from downtown (15%), a EuroCup low for the Greek club. Reyer hit 9-of-23 three-pointers (39.1%), outrebounded Promitheas by 30-39 and had twice as many assists, 11 to 22.

Did you notice?

Despite his team's loss, Ellis set new EuroCup personal-best marks in scoring (21) and PIR (31). Ellis had 9 rebounds, an assist and 8 fouls drawn.

Next game:

Both teams go against each other next week, in already a critical game for Group F's outcome. Reyer hosts Promitheas on Tuesday, February 28 at 20:00 CET.