Reggio Emilia gets first road win at Lietkabelis

Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia claimed its first road win of the 7DAYS EuroCup season by blowing past Lietkabelis Panevezys 75-82 on Wednesday night at Cido Arena. Reggio Emilia improved to 2-1 and a share of second place in Group B, while Lietkabelis slipped to 1-2. Amedeo Della Valle starred again for Reggio Emilia with 22 points, including 7 in a 0-9 third-quarter run that saw his team surge in front. Julian Wright posted 16 points and 11 rebounds for the winners, Garrett Nevels added 14 points and Jalen Reynolds scored 11. Lietkabelis rallied to get within 1 on a Simas Jasaitis triple with a few minutes to go, but Nevels hit back-to-back threes, form which the hosts never recovered. Zanis Peinrers paced Lietkabelis with 15 points, Ksistof and Darjus Lavrinovic each scored 11 and Jasaitis finished with 10.

Reggio Emilia took charge early with all five players scoring a basket in the first five minutes to take a 7-14 advantage. The Lietkabelis was held to just a single basket over six minutes as the visitors extended the margin to double figures. Peinrers’s three-point play and a put-back of his own shot by Zygimantas Skucas drew Lietkabelis within 15-20 after 10 minutes. Jasaitis stepped up with a three-pointer, a steal and an assist in a 7-3 run that saw the hosts close within 22-23. Darjus Lavrinovic tied it at 27-27 midway through the second quarter before Gary Talton gave Lietkabelis its first lead. As the visitors continued to stall, Ksistof Lavrinovic hit a jumper in the lane to extend the lead to 5. Della Valle kept Reggio Emilia in the picture, but a Ksistof Lavrinovic free throw left Lietkabelis with a 36-31 halftime advantage.

Wright came out strong for the second half and helped Reggio Emilia narrow the gap to 1, but Lietkabelis regrouped and behind Adas Juskevicius and Darjus Lavrinovic extended the margin to 50-44. Della Valle scored 7 points in a 0-9 Reggio Emilia run that saw the visitors regain the lead, 52-55. Talton tied it with a three at the other end to leave the teams even through three quarters at 55-55. Nevels pushed the Reggio Emilia lead to 4 three times early in the fourth quarter and Leonardo Candi hit a three to make it 5, but Lietkabelis always stayed close. A three by Jasaitis made it 65-66 midway through the fourth quarter. After a timeout, Nevels buried a pair of long-range threes to silence the crowd. Reynolds added a jumper to make it 65-74 and scored the team’s next two baskets to help ice the game before fouling out. Della Valle tacked on 2 more free throws in the closing seconds to secure the outcome.