Jeremy Morgan and Isiaha Mike were the team's two stars, while the 18-year-old Zaccharie Risacher had just 3 points
Bourg shines against Prometey on an off night for Risacher, 95-82
Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse is the first team to book its place in the BKT EuroCup Semifinals after defeating Prometey Slobozhanske 95-82 at Ekinox on Tuesday night. The French side improved to 9-1 at home, with its only loss having come in Round 18 to ratiopharm Ulm, when it had already wrapped up top spot in Group B. Bourg will face the winner of Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv vs. Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul in a best-of-three series, in which it has home-court advantage.
Jeremy Morgan and Isiaha Mike paced Bourg with 17 points apiece, followed by Maksim Salash and JeQuan Lewis with 12 each. Bryce Brown added 11 for Bourg, which also had Kevin Kokila and Axel Julien both net 9. Zaccharie Risacher, Bourg’s leading scorer during the regular season, had just 3 points, all of which came from the free-throw line. For Prometey, Ondrej Balvin posted a 19-point, 14-rebound double-double. Ronald March scored 13 points, Caleb Agada and Ivan Tkachenko both had 11, and DJ Kennedy recorded a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double before having to leave the game in the third quarter with an injury.
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Bourg got off to a good start and opened an 8-3 lead, with Mike scoring 5 points in that spell. Prometey soon made it a one-point ballgame, 8-7, but Bourg always found a way to stay in front, with Morgan, Mike and Salash all putting points on the board. Brown’s mid-range jumper made it 17-14 with 17 seconds remaining, but a triple by March ensured it was 17-17 at the end of the first quarter.
It was a similar story in the second quarter, with Bourg nudging in front before opening up an eight-point margin, 29-21 after a triple by Salash. Yet, a 6-0 run by Prometey featuring 4 points from Kennedy cut the gap to two points, 29-27. From that point on, it remained tight in the remainder of the quarter, before a deep two by Agada set a 45-44 score at halftime.
Bourg reestablished its eight-point advantage, 52-44, early in the third period, but Prometey once again fought back, trimming the gap to 52-49 with a jumper by Balvin and a three-point play by March. That seemed to wake Bourg up again, though, as it went on to outscore – and dominate – Prometey 27-8 in the remainder of the quarter, which ensured it led 79-57 entering the final frame.
There was a response by Prometey early in the fourth, scoring the first six points of the period to make it 79-63, but mid-range scores by Kokila and Lewis took the wind out of the visitors’ sails, 83-63. Bourg didn’t need to get out of second gear the rest of the way as Prometey kept missing open looks and failing to capitalize on the opportunities it had. The Ukrainian side did make it interesting down the stretch, but Morgan, Brown and Mike stepped up to ensure Bourg came away with a 95-82 victory, thus booking its place in the last four of the EuroCup.