Facing a must-win situation to avoid elimination, Umana Reyer Venice led from start to finish and took control of its quarterfinals destiny with a hard-fought 82-78 win over visiting EWE Baskets Oldenburg on Wednesday night. Reyer improved to 3-2 in Group F, while Oldenburg dropped to 2-3 but it did win the head-to-head tiebreaker since it beat Reyer by 11 points in Round 1. Jeremy Chappell paced the winners with 16 points and Mitchell Watt collected 14 points plus 9 rebounds. Michael Bramos netted 13 points, Andrea De Nicolao scored 12, including a game-sealing three-pointer, while Andrew Goudelock had 10 points for Reyer. Oldenburg's Rasid Mahalbasic was at moments unstoppable, carrying his team with 24 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Tyler Larson added 12 points in a losing effort.
Reyer stays alive, holds off Oldenburg
Reyer took control from the start with a 7-0 run capped by De Nicolao's triple. Phillip Schwethelm hit from downtown for the visitors, but Watt scored twice from close range and Chappell had 5 points, including a three-pointer that helped the hosts build a 21-9 advantage. Larson had a three-point play late in the first and Armani Moore opened the second with a three-pointer for the visitors, but Reyer kept the advantage in double digits behind close-range baskets from Gasper Vidmar and Austin Daye. Another three from Chappell extended the margin to 32-21. De Nicolao took it twice to the rim and Bramos hit a corner triple, but Mahalbasic strung together 10 points for the visitors to help get them within 4 points and make it 45-39 at halftime.
The visitors had a strong start to the third quarter behind Watt who scored 5 points to extend it to 52-39. Karsten Tadda knocked down a corner triple and Mahalbasic a pair of hook shots to cut into the deficit, before Justin Sears scored twice inside to help Oldenburg get within 57-56 going into the fourth quarter. But Reyer stepped up on defense, while Chappell knocked down another three and Watt scored 5 more points, including a three-point play that extended it to 67-58. Oldenburg was not going away, as Tadda and Braydon Hobbs made back-to-back three-pointers. Bramos answered with a triple and had a key put-back layup to extend the margin to 78-69. Mahalbasic and Larson each hit a three-pointer that helped cut the deficit to 79-76 and sent the game down to the wire, but De Nicolao nailed a three with 13.2 seconds on the clock to decide the winner of this contest.
Must-win situation
Reyer ended up facing elimination in this game because Promitheas Patras beat Germani Brescia Leonessa as this game was tipping off, but now controls its destiny and could even finish first in the group.
Glass advantage
Reyer did a great job controlling the boards; the hosts held a 45-31 rebounding advantage and outrebounded Oldenburg 15-8 on the offensive glass.
Goudelock into double-digits
Andrew Goudelock, the 2014 EuroCup MVP, played his second EuroCup game after his lengthy recovery from injury. He was still limited, easing his way with 16 minutes, but finished with 10 points
Containing Rasid
Oldenburg big man Rasid Mahalbasic finished with 24 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, but he still did less damage that in Round 1 when he amassed 25 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists.
Next up
In Top 16 Round 6 in the first week of March, Oldenburg will host Promitheas Patras (3-2), while Venice will visit fellow Italian side Germani Brescia Leonessa (2-3). Each of the four teams can advance, each team can clinch first place, and each team can be eliminated.