Gran Canaria downs Sassari, gets first place

Herbalife Gran Canaria locked first place in Last 32 Group H by downing Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari 90-74 at home on Wednesday. Gran Canaria improved to 4-1 - and to 14-1 in the entire Euroleague season - and clinched first place due to its tie-break advantage against Banvit Bandirma, second at 3-2. Sassari dropped to 2-3 and will qualify if it beats Banvit at home next week. Kyle Kuric led the winners with 21 points. Albert Oliver added 15, Walter Tavares had 14, Eulis Baez got 12 while Levon Kendall contributed 11 for Gran Canaria. David Logan led Sassari with 16 points. Shane Lawal and Jerome Dyson each added 12 while Rakim Sanders had 10 for the guests, which led 17-18 after 10 minutes and improved their margin to 36-38 at halftime. Baez, Kuric and Tavares combined for all points in a 13-0 run which broke the game open, 54-41. Gran Canaria improved its margin to 66-50 at the end of the third quarter and kept full control of the game until the final buzzer.

Lawal and Daniel Vanuzzo gave Sassari an early 1-4 lead. It didn't last long, as a 9-0 run highlight by Kyle Kuric's three-pointer allowed Gran Canaria to get a 10-4 edge. Lawal dunked and Rakim Sanders struck from downtown but DaJuan Summers and Albert Oliver gave the hosts fresh air at 15-11. Brian Sacchetti and Sanders scored around the baskets and a three-pointer by Massimo Chessa put the guests back ahead, 17-18, after 10 minutes. Jerome Dyson and Ian O'Leary exchanged baskets early in the second quarter and a layup by Eulis Baez put Gran Canaria back ahead, 21-20. Dyson scored again but a 7-0 run which Baez capped with free throws gave the hosts a 28-22 margin. David Logan struck from downtown and Lawal followed a layup with a dunk in a 2-12 run which gave Sassari a 30-34 lead. Oriol Pauli and Oliver stepped up for Gran Canaria but a layup by Matteo Formenti fixed the halftime score at 36-38. Kuric followed a three-pointer with a jumper right after the break but Sacchetti answered from downtown tied it at 41-41. Tavares and Baez combined for 10 points in a game-breaking 13-0 run which Kuric capped with a three-pointer for a 54-41 margin. Logan tried to change things with a layup but Oliver and Tavares kept Gran Canaria way ahead, 60-45. A layup by Levon Kendall made it a 16-point game, 66-50, after 30 minutes. Dyson shined early in the fourth quarter and a dunk by Lawal gave Sassari hope at 73-60. Tavares and Kuric stayed unstoppable, however, and a layup by Oriol Pauli sealed the outcome, 82-64, as the guests never recovered.