Morabanc Andorra claimed a hard-fought win over Lietkabelis Panevezys 81-76 at Poliesportiu D’Andorra on Tuesday night. The hosts, who remained unbeaten at home and improved to 5-2 overall had 6 three-point plays in the second quarter to build a 53-40 at halftime and entered the last period leading 72-57. The visitors didn’t surrender and got within a single possession, 77-74, but free throws by Codi Miller-McIntyre and Clevin Hannah in the last minute saved the day for the home team.
Andorra survives late Lietkabelis push, 81-76
Drew Crawford was Andorra’s top scorer with 14 points, while Hannah netted 12 and Miller-McIntyre posted 11 points and 6 assists. Gediminas Orelik scored 23 points and grabbed 7 rebounds for a PIR of 29, Panagiotis Kalaitzakis contributed 13 points and Djordje Gagic added 11 for Lietkabelis, which dropped to 3-4.
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The visitors had a better entrance to the game and took an early 3-8 edge on a three-pointer by Orelik. Crawford answered from the same distance before Miller-McIntyre finished a fastbreak with a nice floater to tie it at 8-8. Free throws by Hannah granted Andorra its first lead, 11-10, but it didn’t last for long. Even though offensive rebounding provided Lietkabelis second-chance points to get back in front, 11-15, a 12-0 run led by Babatunde Olumuyiwa and Amine Noua helped the hosts dominate 25-19 after 10 minutes.
Gabrielius Maldunas opened fire in the second quarter to bring the visitors within a single possession, but Andorra found timely long-range answers from Gal Mekel and Noua to stay calm, 31-23. Nikola Radicevic stepped up to keep the visitors in the game. Then Hannah and Conor Morgan nailed back-to-back triples and Oriol Pauli contributed a basket-plus-foul to make it 48-36. Another bomb by Crawford extended the lead to 15, which Lietkabelis managed to reduce to 53-40 at halftime.
Kalaitzakis fueled the visitors with 4 quick points after the break. Gagic followed with a fastbreak dunk and Orelik hit from downtown to reduce the gap to 57-49. Crawford came to the rescue and strung together a couple of three-point plays in an 8-0 run, which helped Andorra recover a safe margin, 65-49, midway through the third quarter. Although the visitors continued fighting, each comeback attempt was rapidly suffocated by the hosts. Back-to-back threes by Morgan closed the third quarter with Andorra comfortably in control, 72-57.
Gagic went to work inside and Kalaitzakis added a free throw to allow Lietkabelis to keep breathing, 74-62, with 6 minutes to go. Coach Ibon Navarro tried to revive his team with a timeout, but Andorra seemed to have lost its offensive momentum completely. A 6-minute span without scoring opened the door for the visitors to get within 6 after a 0-11 run. Miller-McIntyre and Hannah ended the drought from the line and Andorra led 77-68 entering crunch time. The visitors had not said their last word, though, as 3 steals in a row by Lietkabelis put the game on the line, 77-74, with 14 seconds to go. The comeback attempt finished when Miller-McIntyre poured in 2 free throws as Orelik's answer came too late for the visitors.