Cedevita edges Rome in overtime to take Group I lead

Cedevita Zagreb held on to beat Virtus Rome 91-90 after overtime on Tuesday in the Croatian capital to take the top spot in Group I with a 3-1 record. Miro Bilan and Stanko Barac each posted double doubles for the winners, who needed a slick assist from Tomislav Zubcic to Luka Babic for a slam with 2.4 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 82-82 and force overtime. The hosts had earlier rallied from an 8-point fourth quarter deficit with a 12-0 run. The overtime session was tight and Rome had a shot to win at the buzzer, but Brandon Triche’s three-point attempt bounced out. Bilan tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Barac posted 14 and 10. Fran Pilepic scored 13, Nemanja Gordic added 12 points and 5 assists and Zubcic finished with 10 points and 8 rebounds. Cedevita outrebounded Rome 53-25. Rok Stipcevic Shot 6 of 8 from downtown for 27 points for Rome – including a go-ahead triple with 5.3 seconds left in regulation. Kyle Gibson finished with 18 points, Triche had 13 and 5 assists and Jordan Morgan scored 10 in defeat as Rome dropped to 2-2.

Cedevita got on the scoreboard first through Pilepic and Gordic. Rome responded right away and tied it at 6-6 on a Stipcevic jumper. Pilepic’s three-point play and Bilan inside boosted the hosts to 11-6 and a pair of Zubcic buckets made it 18-10. After a Rome timeout, Gibson drilled a triple. Barac free throws made it 19-15 after 10 minutes. Morgan scored 2 from the line and added a tip-in to tie the game at 21-21. Gibson’s second triple put the visitors up for the first time, 23-24. Bilan tied it at 28-28 from the line and again at 30-30 on the offensive glass. Bilan continued to carry Cedevita and after Gibson evened things at 33-33. Bilan split free throws to make it 34-33 at the break.

Gibson opened the second half with his fourth triple. Bobby Jones and Melvin Ejim also connected from downtown for Rome, but a pair of Marko Arapovic buckets kept it close. Stipcevic knocked down a pair of triple to make it 43-48. And Jones put the visitors up 47-53 with a pair of free throws. Cedevita responded with the next 8 points, including back-to-back three-point plays from Ante Delas and Barac to take a slim lead. However a Triche three-pointer evened the score at 58-58 through three quarters. And he was just getting started; Triche added 2 more triples to start the fourth quarter. Stipcevic bettered each of Cedevita’s next two baskets with threes to make it 62-70. Marko Tomas tried to trigger the Cedevita comeback with a three and Barac closed the gap to 71-74 with five minutes to go. Back-to-back threes from Zubcic and Tomas capped a 12-0 run that made it 78-74. Gibson free throws brought Rom within 1 with two minutes to go. Stipcevic drilled a go-ahead three with 5.3 seconds to go that made it 80-82. After a Cedevita timeout, a brilliant out-of-bounds play saw Zubcic feed Babic for a slam with 2.4 seconds left that forced overtime.

Morgan scored the first basket of the extra session, but promptly fouled out on defense. Zubcic and Arapovic free throws put the hosts up 85-84. Gordic found Bilan at the rim to make it a 3-point game with two minutes remaining. Babic and Bilan free throws kept Cedevita ahead after Rome scored. Stipcevic made it 91-90 from the line with 46.3 seconds left. Stipcevic’s steal got Rome a shot to win it at the buzzer, but Triche missed a three from the corner.