Sassari tops host Banvit on Lawal's game-winning dunk!

In a thriller to open Last 32 Round 2, visiting Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari outlasted Banvit Bandirma 74-75 with a stylish finish on the road in Turkey on Tuesday. With 6 seconds left, Sassari center Shane Lawal made a two-handed dunk of an assist delivered by David Logan to give his team the triumph. Sassari and Banvit are now tied at 1-1 in Group H. Rakim Sanders led the winners with 22 points. David Logan scored 9 of his 16 points early in the third quarter, while Lawal amassed 15 points and 12 rebounds, six of them offensive. EJ Rowland posted 19 points and had 4 steals and 4 assists for Banvit. Vladimir Veremeenko chipped in 16 points and 8 rebounds, while Can Maxim Mutaf and Chuck Davis scored 16 and 14, respectively.

A lay-up by Logan capped an 0-11 run as the visitors took an early 8-14 lead. Rowland scored a pair of free throws before a two-handed slam from Lawal raised the Sassari cushion to 10-18. Sanders and Rowland exchanged long-distance baskets, and Banvit then increased its defensive pressure, finding easy buckets to get back within 19-21 on a score by Veremeenko. Then Logan, from mid-range, beat the first-quarter buzzer for a 20-25 Sassari advantage. Defense prevailed early in the second quarter, Veremeenko tied it up 27-27 by scoring underneath against Sassari's 3-2 zone. A jumper by Davis put Banvit in front after a 9-2 run. Sanders nailed 6 points in a row to retake a 31-35 edge fore Sassari. Rowland again tied it, 37-37, by putting back an offensive board. A perfect team play by Sassari in the last 10 seconds finished with a dunk by Cheikh Mbodj that gave the guests a 39-41 margin at halftime.

Logan started the third quarter on fire, leading a 2-11 Sassari run by scoring 3 consecutive triples and stealing a ball to send Lawal ahead for an easy dunk and a 41-52 lead. Keith Simmons, from the three-point range, tried to keep Banvit close, but a pair of steals leading to free throws let Sassari's advantage balloon to 44-58. Veremeenko started Banvit's comeback, scoring twice in the paint to cut the deficit, then putting back another offensive rebound to close the difference to 52-59. Mutaf exploded with a jumper from mid-range and a three-pointer to get the hosts even closer, and Davis scored for a 59-62 scoreboard after 30 minutes. Banvit continued to raise its defensive intensity and took the lead back, 67-65, with a steal from Rowland and an easy open-court layup by Simmons. Mutaf raised the Banvit advantage to 71-65, but Sassari did not give up, answering with Miroslav Todic from beyond the arc and 5 points in a row from Sanders to push in front again, 72-73. In a thrilling finale, Rowland hit a pull-up jumper as Banvit went up 74-73, but after mistakes on both sides, the huge dunk by Lawal made it 74-75 for Sassari with 6 seconds left. Rowland missed a shot to win the game and Sassari took home its first Last 32 victory.