Brescia outlasts Mornar at home

In a thriller that went down to the final shot, Germani Brescia stayed in the race to reach the Top 16 from Group B by downing Mornar Bar 77-75 at Palaleonessa A2A on Wednesday. Brescia improved to 2-5 in the standings while Mornar dropped to 3-5. Kenny Chery led the winners with 20 points, Drew Crawford added 15 and Dusan Ristic grabbed 10 rebounds. Jacob Pullen paced Mornar with 20 points, Isaiah Whitehead scored 14 and Kenny Gabriel posted 13 points and 11 rebounds for the visitors. Brescia led 20-14 after 10 minutes, but Mornar got within 41-38 at halftime. Pullen, Gabriel and Nemanja Vranjes staked the visitors to a 51-56 edge late in the third quarter. Chery had 7 points in a 14-1 rally, but Mornar came back to lead 65-66. It all came down to the final two plays - Christian Burns scored with 11.3 seconds left and Whitehead missed a potential game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer.

Pullen got Mornar going with a step-back three-pointer and Derek Needham added a backcourt layup for a 0-5 lead. Burns and Chery stepped up for Brescia and Crawford score in the low post for a 6-7 score. After Gabriel and Chery each struck from downtown, TJ Cline gave the hosts their first lead, 11-10. Drew Crawford followed a layup with a dunk and Ristic capped an 11-0 run with a jumper. Marko Jeremic and Whitehead brought Mornar a bit closer, 20-14, after 10 minutes. David Moss hit a floater early in the second quarter and Giordano Bortolani took over with a wild three-point play, but Sead Sehovic kept Mornar within 25-19. Brian Sacchetti downed a triple and Ristic soon made it a double-digit game, 32-21. Taylor Smith and Pullen combined for all the points in a 0-6 run that brought Mornar within 32-27. Cline hit a fallaway jumper and Bortolani downed a triple, but Gabriel, Smith and Pullen brought the guests even closer, 39-36. Ristic and Needham fixed the halftime score at 41-38.

Sacchetti and Chery struck from beyond the arc soon after the break for a 47-38 Brescia lead. Gabriel joined the three-point shootout and Pullen added a floater, which caused the hosts to call timeout at 49-43. Gabriel bettered Luca Vitali's jumper with a four-point play and Pullen scored twice in penetration to tie it at 51-51. Vranjes followed a floater with a triple to complete Mornar's comeback, 51-56. Burns answered from downtown and Chery gave Brescia the lead, 57-56, after 30 minutes. Burns and Chery each scored around the basket early in the fourth quarter to cap a 10-0 Brescia run. Tyler Kalinowski hit a floater and Chery boosted the hosts' margin to 65-57. Smith rescued Mornar with a layup and Pullen added a jumper, igniting a 0-9 run that Whitehead capped with a three-pointer for a 65-66 lead. Crawford stepped up with a three-point play and Chery struck from beyond the arc, giving Brescia fresh air at 71-66 with 3 minutes to go. Chery scored again and Crawford took over with a wild dunk, but Whitehead drew Mornar within 75-71. Pullen sank free throws and Whitehead scored around the basket to tie it at 75-75 with 28.7 seconds left. Burns scored in the paint and Whitehead missed from beyond the arc at the buzzer.

Pivotal performer

Kenny Chery stepped up every time his team needed him and gave Brescia the chance for a close finish. He finished the game with 20 points on 3-of-6 two-point shooting, 3-of-6 on three-pointers and 5-of-5 on free throws plus 2 assists and 4 fouls drawn for a PIR of 19.

Game-changing moment

After a 0-7 run gave Mornar to get a 65-66 lead, Drew Crawford took matters into his own hands with a three-point play and a driving dunk. Ge got plenty of help from Chery to give Brescia a 75-68 lead. After that 10-2 run, Brescia did not trail again, even though Mornar kept its chances open until the final buzzer.

Stellar stat

Brescia dominated the boards and shot the ball a little bit better. The hosts outrebounded Mornar 42-33, including 11 offensive boards. It also had better percentages (47.4% 2FG, 36.4% 3FG) than Mornar (41.2% 2FG, 31.0% 3FG).

Did you know?

Drew Crawford's 15 points were a new career-high. His previous best was 14 points against Unicaja Malaga on October 21. Tyler Kalinowski remained perfect this season from two-point range (5-of-5) and off-target from beyond the arc (0-of-6).

Next game

Brescia returns to EuroCup action this week to host another Montenegrin squad, Buducnost VOLI Podgorica, in a postponed Round 6 game on Friday, November 20. Mornar's next game will be in Round 9 against Boulogne Metropolitans 92 on Wednesday, December 9.