EWE Baskets Oldenburg rallied from a double-digit deficit, then survived an overtime drama to beat Cedevita Zagreb 92-90 on Wednesday. Win improved EWE Baskets to 2-1 in a share of second place in Group B, while Cedevita dropped to 1-2. The visitors used a 0-17 run to finish the second, and start the third quarter, opening up 39-50 lead. But the hosts got hot from behind the arc, and rallied take 67-66 lead. Nolan Smith scored for Cedevita to make it 79-79, and send the game in the extra session, where the visitors had a 3-point lead in the final minute, but hosts got to the free throw line to regain the advantage and pull out a victory. Julius Jenkins paced in victory with 19 points, Rickey Paulding netted 18, while Konrad Wysocki and Robin Smeulders had 14 apiece. Tomislav Zubcic and Nolan Smith each scored 22 points for Cedevita. Zubcic also grabbed 8 rebounds, and Smith dished out 8 assists. Mir Bilan added 15 points in defeat.
Bilan and the 16-year old Lovro Mazalin got Cedevita off to 0-7 start, but Andrea Crosariol and Nemanja Aleksandrov went inside to spark a run of 9 consecutive points for the hosts. Behind the baskets from Bilan and Smith, Cedevita was the one with a lead after 10 minutes, 14-19. EWE Baskets had a much better offensive rhythm in the second quarter, as Wysocki, Jenkins and Dru Joyce all hit triples, but Zubcic and Smith made sure Cedevita did not fall behind. With Chris Kramer hitting from behind the arc, the hosts did go on to create a 6-point margin just before halftime, but Zubcic answered with a basket-plus-foul, then Ivo Baltic beat the halftime buzzer with a fastbreak basket for 39-38. After the break, Cedevita came out firing. Smith and Zubcic hit triples, Smith fed Bilan twice, and Babic capped the a 0-12 run for 39-50. Paulding ended EWE's draught with a triple, but Smith and Ante Delas scored from downtown for 48-58. Wysocki with a triple, and Robin Smeulders from close range cut it to 55-60 late in the third quarter, before Paulding, Kramer and Jenkins got hot, combining to hit 4 triples in less than 3 minutes of the fourth quarter for 67-66. Jenkins hit another one from downtown, but Marino Bazdaric, Delas and Babic with a three-pointer got Cedevita back in front, 70-75. Another run from the hosts fueled by Kramer and Crosariol got them to 79-77, but Smith sent the game into overtime. In the extra session, a triple from Delas and basket from Smith put Cedevita in front 83-84, and with baskets from Zubcic and Ivan Ramljak the visitors held 87-90 with less than 45 second to go. But in the remaining time, Smeulders and Paulding each hit a pair from the free throw line for EWE Baskets to regain the lead, and the hosts survived after Smith committed a turnover on the final possession.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
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