Virtus Segafredo Bologna got back to its winning ways by using a big start to the third quarter to down visiting Umana Reyer Venice 90-84 in an all-Italian League clash on Tuesday night. Virtus snapped its two-game losing streak to improve to 3-2, while Reyer dropped to 2-3.
Virtus holds off Reyer in all-Italian clash, 90-84



The teams traded blows for the majority of the first half before Virtus used a 15-3 run to open a 42-32 lead. The hosts then started the third quarter with a 14-2 run to break the game open. Reyer came back within 3 points several times, but Virtus held on. Kevin Hervey led in victory with 26 points and Milos Teodosic had 22 points and 7 assists. Isaia Cordinier added 13 points for Virtus. Michele Vitali scored a career-high 26, Austin Daye had 15 points and 7 rebounds and Mitchell Watt added 13 points in a losing effort.
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Hervey hit a three-pointer for Virtus in the early going, but Vitali scored 8 consecutive points for the visitors, including a pair of triples to make it 8-10. But close-range baskets from Teodosic and Hervey put Virtus back in front and started a 14-2 run during which Hervey and Cordinier scored inside and Ty-Shon Alexander hit from long range. Tarik Phillip nailed a triple late in the first quarter for Reyer to make it 24-15.
Victor Sanders made a floater and Daye knocked down a three-pointer early in the second to trim the margin to 24-20. Cordinier had a basket-plus-foul for the hosts, but Watt scored 7 straight points, including a three-point play that put Reyer up 27-29 midway through the quarter. Hervey quickly restored Virtus's lead, and the hosts kept making defensive stops. Teodosic scored 7 points, including a turnaround triple to open a 40-31 margin, and the hosts went up by 10 before Phillip's triple and Vitali's jumper made it 45-37 at halftime.
Virtus scored the first 6 points of the third quarter, with Mam Jaiteh and Hervey scoring from close range. The hosts did not allow a basket for more than 3 minutes to open the second half, before a triple apiece from Kyle Weems and Hervey helped open a 59-39 lead. Watt snapped the drought before Vitali and Daye each had a three-pointer to halve the deficit, 61-51. Hervey snapped a 0-10 run, and Virtus took a 69-59 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Vitali and Hervey traded triples to open the fourth before Martynas Echodas fought for a put-back dunk and Jeff Brooks had a basket-plus-foul to cut it to 72-68. Teodosic had a three-point play and a floater, but Sanders had a long jumper and a three-pointer before Daye banked in a tough runner to make it 79-76. Teodosic fed Jaiteh for a layup, but Daye's tough triple with 1:39 to go cut it again to 84-81. Another assist from Teodosic set up another easy layup, this time for Hervey, and then Teodosic took it to the rim himself to seal the deal in the final minute.



















































































































