The guard scored a career-high 36 points against ASVEL in Virtus’s first road win of the campaign
Carsen Edwards is back to doing Carsen Edwards things
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 5 of 38
Regular Season
LDLC ASVEL VilleurbanneASV
8390
Virtus BolognaVIR
Overview
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EuroLeague teams, take note: Carsen Edwards is officially back.
The Virtus Bologna guard opened the double-round week with 24 points against AS Monaco, then followed it up with a career-high 36 in a hard-fought 90-83 road win over LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne.
“I’m just glad we got the win. A double week, being able to get two in a row means a lot. Just happy our guys got it,” Edwards said after the victory in France. “Hopefully we can keep chipping away at it. We have a long way to go.”
Edwards finished with 12-of-22 shooting from the field, including 5-of-12 from three-point range. He also hit 7-of-8 free throws, adding 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 steal for a performance index rating (PIR) of 28.
Virtus had been perfect at home with a 2–0 record at the Paladozza in Bologna, but had lost its first two road games. Head coach Dusko Ivanovic acknowledged the importance of this win.
“This is important for the mental part. I have a team of young guys with ambition,” Ivanovic said. “The most important thing – if you win or lose – is to never give up and give 100 percent all the time.”
It was just the second time this season that Virtus reached the 90-point mark. The only other time came in a Round 2 loss at Valencia, 103-94.
The game in Villeurbanne was close through the first three quarters, with neither team able to pull away. The biggest lead at any point was just six points.
Virtus made its move with a 13-0 run spanning the third and fourth quarters. Edwards capped it with a three-pointer to push the lead to 71-64.
ASVEL, led by Glynn Watson’s 24 points, managed to close the gap to within three, but never got closer.
Edwards had an answer every time. He hit two tough layups and another three, then iced the game with three free throws in the final minute to make it 90-81.
The 90-point outing was nine points above Virtus’s average of 81.0, which ranked 18th out of 20 EuroLeague teams. The team also posted a PIR of 96 – well above its previous average of 84.3, which had ranked 19th.
Another strength for Virtus this season has been its defense on the perimeter. Coming into the game, Coach Ivanovic's team was allowing opponents to shoot just 33.6% from deep, fourth-best in the EuroLeague.
ASVEL struggled from long range, hitting only 7-of-29 attempts (24.1%).
“Great week, an amazing week. Especially this win – the first win on the road,” said Virtus guard Alessandro Pajola, who hit 4 three-pointers and scored 14 points. “We were happy to win a couple at home, but we lost two away. So we’re very happy to complete the week like this.”
Pajola was quick to credit Edwards for leading the charge.
“Carsen had an amazing game. He’s our shooter, our scorer. If he plays like this, we can do a lot of great things,” Pajola said. “A good job by the whole team, but Carsen especially.”
Expectations were high for Edwards after his move from FC Bayern Munich to Virtus. Last season, he led the EuroLeague in scoring with 20.4 points per game and was named to the 2024–25 All-EuroLeague First Team.
The 27-year-old got off to a relatively quiet start this season, averaging 13.3 points over his first three games. That changed with his 24-point performance earlier in the week against Monaco.
Now, with 36 points against ASVEL, he’s set a new personal best, surpassing his previous high of 34 which came against ALBA Berlin in January 2025 while with Bayern.
It was the seventh time in his EuroLeague career that Edwards has scored at least 30 points. His 36-point outing also tied the highest individual scoring mark in the EuroLeague this season, matching Wade Baldwin’s performance for Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in Round 2.
Carsen Edwards is back to doing Carsen Edwards things – and the rest of the EuroLeague has been officially put on notice.
