Dijon uses strong second half for its third win

JDA Dijon continued its strong start to its first ever Eurocup season, downing Cantu 74-66 on Wednesday. Dijon improved to 3-1 for at least a share of the second place in Group B, while Cantu remained winless on the season. Dijon made the difference in the third quarter, using a 10-0 run to pull away to a double-digit lead, and never looked back. Erving Walker paced the winners with 22 points and 7 assists. Steven Gray and Zach Moss each scored 13 for Dijon. Darius Johnson-Odom scored 17 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter for Cantu, Damian Hollis scored 14, and Ivan Buva added 10 in defeat.

Dijon had a better start to the game, with Steven Gray contributing with 7 points for 9-2 lead, but Damian Hollis and James Feldeine countered, cutting it to 13-12. Kevin Joss-Rauze scored from downtown for the hosts, but Feldeine made it 16-14 after the first quarter, before hitting a triple early in the third for Cantu's first lead, 18-19. Baskets were few and far between in the second period, with Andre Harris hitting a triple and a jumper for Dijon, while Johnson-Odom and Hollis scored for the visitors, making it 27-27 at halftime.

Harris opened the third quarter with a triple, and a basket-plus-foul from Zach Moss made it 35-30. Hollis nailed a three for the visitors, but Kris Joseph contributed with big plays on both ends of the floor, while Erving Walker orchestrated the offense, leading to Moss scoring a pair of layups as the lead reached 45-33. Hollis and Buva snapped a 10-0 run, but Walker ended the quarter with a couple of baskets that extended it to 53-39. Aldo Curti scored a layup-plus-foul to make it a 15-point game in the fourth, but Buva scored 7 in a row, including a three-pointer, helping Cantu cut it to 56-46. A triple from Johnson-Odom made it 62-53, but Walker made 5 of 5 from the free throw line in the next couple of minutes to keep the margin in the double figures. Johnson-Odom scored 17 of Cantu’s next 18 points, making it 72-64 with just over 60 seconds to go, but Walker sealed the deal from the free throw line.