Montepaschi Siena edges Chalon 93-90 for thriller first victory

After a series of close losses to start the Turkish Airlines Euroleague season, Montepaschi Siena found its way to the winning end of a thriller by rallying from 14 points behind to defeat visiting Elan Chalon-sur-Saone 93-90 on Friday. It was Siena's first win of the season, while Chalon lost its third in a row. Both teams now hold 1-3 records and are tied for fourth place in Group B with Asseco Prokom Gdynia. Chalon led 25-39 after 12 minutes and had a double-digit advantage in the third quarter. Siena regained a lead to begin the fourth, however the teams were tied 88-88 going into the final 60 seconds. In the dramatic ending, Danile Hackett’s driving layup put Siena up for good, and Brion Rush missed both crucial free throws on the ensuing possession enabling Siena to closed the game out from foul line. Bobby Brown led Siena with 34 points on 16 for 21 free throw shooting while tying a Euroleague record by drawing 15 fouls. David Moss scored 10 f his 12 points in the first half for Siena, while Mario Kasun finished with 10 points in only 12 minutes on the floor. For Chalon, Shelden Williams amassed 28 poitns and 13 rebound, while Blake Schilb scored 17. Joffrey Lauvergne had 14 points plus 8 rebounds and Steed Tchicamboud scored 12 in defeat.

Elan Chalon races ahead by 9 points

Williams's basket-plus-foul and a fastbreak layup opened the scoring and gave Chalon an early 0-5 advantage. Marcelus Kemp hit a long jumper to open Siena's account, but Schilb made it 2-7 after 2 minutes. Kasun and Schilb exchanged dunks, and Siena stayed in touch with Kristjan Kangur hitting the first triple of the game at 7-9. Williams scored another three-point play before Kasun scored twice inside, including a monster dunk at 11-12. Siena tried fouling Williams, who 3 of 4 free throws as a triple by Moss kept Siena within 16-15. Tchicamboud and Brown traded three-pointers before Williams hit a long jumper to re-take the lead. Chalon's run continued with big man Joffrey Lauvergne sinking a jumper and Schilb scoring a fastbreak layup and a triple for a sudden 19-27 Chalon lead. Brown made 4 free throws to snap the visitors' run, but with Tchicamboud scoring a layup-plus-free throw in between, Chalon remained ahead 23-30 after 10 minutes.

Siena cuts double-digit deficit in half 

Nicolas Lang and Moss exchanged jumpers to open the second quarter, while Jean-Baptiste-Adolphe Michel dunked, Jordan Aboudou hit from the arc and Tchicamboud made a layup as Chalon soared ahead 25-39. Siena head coach Luca Banchi took a timeout and his team returned to the floor far more aggressive on defense. After Moss hit a triple from the corner, Tchicamboud banked in a shot to keep the margin in double figures. But Brown soon split free throws and buried a triple to make it 33-41. Lauvergne’s fastbreak dunk and a subsequent layup kept Chalon in front. However, Viktor Sanikidze, Brown and Moss combined for 6 perfect free throws before Brown's triple made it 42-45. Lauvergne kept rolling with 2 baskets as Chalon regained a 44-51 advantage and Williams's put-back-plus-free throw restored a a double-digit advantage at 44-54. Williams missed 3 of 4 free throws, however, while Siena's Daniel Hackett hit a triple and Brown a floater-plus-foul that dropped Chalon's halftime lead to 50-55.

Siena's 14-4 run ties the game 

Brown hit from long-ranged to open the third quarter before Benjamin Ortner's jumper to cut Siena's deficit to 55-57. Soon, Kasun hit a hook-shot that Brion Rush answered with a three-pointer, making it 57-64 after 24 minutes. After Kasun's layup, Michel's monster dunk kept Siena at a distance until the visitors again attained a double-digit lead, 59-69, as Schilb made 3 of 4 freethrows. Kasun fouling out after only 26 minutes did not help the hosts, but Siena did pull within 65-69 with 3 minutes to go in the quarter with Kangur’s triple and put-back. With both teams going to the free throw line on almost every possession, Siena used an unsportsmanlike foul from Michel to tie the game, 73-73, with Brown making 5 of  6 free throws. Lauvergne's put-back was the lone basket of the quarter's last 3 minutes but enough to retain a lead of 73-75 for Chalon.

Siena follows Brown to complete comeback 

Kemp's three-pointer to open the fourth quarter gave Siena its first lead of the second half. Schilb and Marco Carraretto traded inside baskets before Moss extended Siena's lead with a driving layup and Brown made a floater to push it to 83-77. Williams finally answerd for Chalone with a reverse layup while he and Tchicamboud went 3 or 6 from the line. When Tchicamboud assisted Williams for an uncontested dunk, Chalon was ahead again, 83-84. That advantage was short-lived, though, as Ress blasted a triple while Brown stole and raced for a spectacular dunk over Schilb that made the home crowd go crazy. Now, Siena led 88-84 lead with less than 2 minutes to play. After Schilb scored in the low post, Williams made a tip-in to tie it up, 88-88, going into the final minute. On the ensuing possession, Hackett drove to the hoop for 90-88 advantage while Rush missed both free throws that could have tied the game with 21 seconds remaining. Chalon then stole and inbound pass, but Moss hustled to make it a tie-up and the possession arrow gave the ball back to Siena. Carraretto made 1 of 2 free throws, and Rush both of his at 91-90. When Brown was perfect on his 2 foul shots with 7 seconds to go, Rush missed a three-pointer form 10 meters that would have send the game into overtime, giving Siena its first win of the season.