Adriatic League: Red Star downs Partizan

Last night the top two teams in the Adriatic League clashed and now a new leader sits atop the standings. Serbian clubs met in battle, Crvena Zvezda Telekom Beograd took home a thrilling overtime victory over BC Partizan NiS, 86:83. Both teams now have an identical 6-2 record, but because Red Star just won, they are now the Kings of the Hill at the moment.

The host team Partizan came out guns blazing in the first quarter and set the pace with a seven point advantage. Red Star rallied in the second to come within one by the break, 38:39. It was Partizan that would manage to control the action in the third quarter, but Red Star quashed the lead in the final period forcing extra time thanks to a jumper knocked down by French import Joffrey Lauvergne (210 cm). It was the heroics of Red Star’s Slovenian sixth man, Jaka Blazic  (196 cm) that sealed the win for the visitors.

Local player Boban Marjanovic (222 cm) dominated Partizan both in the paint and from the free throw line. He knocked down 9-12 from two-point range and sank 9-10 from the charity stripe to finish with a game-high 27 points. DeMarcus Nelson (193 cm, Duke’08) added 15 points, while Jaka Blazic and Charles Jenkins chipped in 13 points apiece off the bench.

Partizan had two players who managed to score 20 points or more. Bogdan Bogdanovic finished with 22 points and Dragan Milosavljevic brought 20. Joffrey Lauvergne and Tarence Kinsey rounded out the top performers for Partizan, scoring 14 and 13 points respectively.