Andorra edges Slask 91-95 in thriller

MoraBanc Andorra had to work hard for 40 minutes to hold off Slask Wroclaw 91-95 in a game decided in the final second.

Regular Season

Round 18 of 18

game MoraBanc Andorra vs Slask Wroclaw

Regular Season

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Slask WroclawWKS

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MoraBanc AndorraMBA

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Overview

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Andorra led by as many as 16 late in the third quarter before Slask went on a furious fourth-quarter run to take the lead. It came down to the final seconds when Kerem Kanter missed a shot to send the game to overtime. Conor Morgan set a career-high with 5 three-pointers and matched his personal best with 17 points to lead Andorra, which improved to 10-6. Codi Miller-McIntyre added 15 points, Babatunde Olumuyiwa posted 11 points and 10 rebounds and David Jelinek and Nacho Llovet netted 10 points apiece. Kanter finished with 20 points and 13 boards to lead six Slask scorers in double figures. Aleksander Dziewa posted 18 points and 8 boards, Travis Trice had 16 points and 6 assists, Kodi Justice added 12 points and Szymon Tomczak and Lukasz Kolenda scored 10 each. Slask fell to 3-13 and will face Gran Canaria in the eighthfinals.

Dziewa opened the scoring when he put back his own miss and then Jakub Karolak and Trice buried threes as the hosts surged ahead 10-0. Jelinek got Andorra going with a triple and a layup and Mario Nakic’s three-pointer made it 12-8. Big men Dziewa and Kanter gave Slask some breathing room and Trice’s layup extended the margin to 9. Arteaga scored twice to get the visitors going and Morgan and Miller-McIntyre made threes in a 0-9 run to finish the quarter that gave Andorra a 20-21 advantage.

Tomczak’s layup ended the Slask drought as the teams settled into a stretch where they traded shots – and leads. It was tied at 28-28 after Michal Gabinski’s put-back. Consecutive triples by Oriol Pauli and Jelinek prompted a quick Slask timeout. Pauli twice missed what would have been spectacular throwdowns as Slask trimmed the deficit to 32-35. However, Llovet stepped into the spotlight with a baseline slam and a bank shot and Miller-McIntyre added his second three of the game to give Andorra a double-digit lead, 34-46. A deep three by Justice and a last-second layup by Kolenda made it 39-46 at the break.

Llovet and Kanter traded threes to open the second half. Dziewa’s triple from the top of the key brought Slask within 48-54. However, the Slask attack hit a road bump and Andorra surged to a 12-point lead on Morgan’s third triple. Morgan remained hot with a put-back and a three-pointer as an answer to all Slask points. Despite a pretty play in the paint from Kanter, Andorra continued to cruise. Miller-McIntyre scored twice to extend the margin to 55-71. Justice connected from deep and Szymon’s layup made it 62-73 through three quarters.

Slask began the fourth quarter with a dunk by Dziewa and a triple by Trice gave the Slask faithful hope at 69-76. Kolenda made it a 5-point game before Morgan buried a triple. However, Slask continued to fight and baskets by Dziewa and Kanter made it 79-83 with 4 and a half minutes remaining. Trice made it a 3-point game though Clevin Hannah matched him with his first basket of the night. Kolenda tied the game at 88-88 with a three with 2:25 on the clock. Again Hannah responded, but this time Trice came back with a three-point play for a 91-90 lead. The lead changed hands again on Hannah’s floater before Kanter missed twice from the line. Both teams missed a few times in a frantic final minute, including Kanter with a last-second jumper that would have tied it. Olumyiwa iced the game with free throws.