LNB: Nanterre knocks Cholet from unbeatens
It’s been quite a week for the boys from Nanterre, winning their first Euroleague game at the expense of FC Barcelona Regal on their home court, and on Saturday they picked up their sixth win in as many games when they pounded previously unbeaten Cholet Basket 59:79 on Cholet’s home court. The win leaves just two clubs with unblemished records, Nanterre at 5-0 and Orleans, who’s currently 4-0 and plays Limoges (3-1) on Tuesday. Orleans has won twice this season in overtime.
In other LNB action on Saturday Strasbourg defeated Gravelines-Dunkerque, LeMans downed Antibes, Roanne beat Dijon, Lyon-Villeurbanne stopped Chalon sur Saone, and Pau-Lacq-Orthez Traveled to Paris and defeated Paris-Levallois.
Cholet – Nanterre, 59:79
The 2013 LNB Champions took their show on the road Saturday hoping for a good showing after their historic win in Barcelona last week and didn’t disappoint the Nanterre loyals when they put up 20 against Cholet, who was tied with Nanterre for the top spot in the league going into the contest.
The guests won the game outside the three-point stripe, shooting an impressive 50% on 13 of 26 long-balls. Cholet could only manage to knock down 4 of 23 for a disappointing 17.4%.
Sergii Gladyr lead the guests with 18 points, all from downtown as he drained 6 of 10 from beyond the arc. Mouhammadou Jaiteh added 13 points to the win. Terrell Stoglin was game-high for Cholet, scoring 19, while teammate John Cox contributed 14 to the losing effort.
Nanterre won all four quarters, taking the first two in identical 18:22 scores, to send the clubs into the intermission with the visitors up 36:44. The Nanterrians basically put the contest away in the third quarter, outscoring their hosts 9:19 to take a 45:63 advantage into the final frame, where they added two more to the margin for a 59:79 win.
Gravelines-Dunkerque – Strasbourg, 67:72
Strasbourg improved to 4-2 with a 67:72 road win over Gravelines-Dunkerque, who drops to 1-4 on the season. It was a big third quarter for Strasbourg that got them the win as Gravelines had built an 11-point lead after the first two frames. With a 12:25 advantage in the third that gave the visitors a 46:48 lead heading into the final period, Strasbourg was able to turn what looked like a runaway contest at the intermission, into their fourth win with a 21:24 final frame for a 67:72 victory.
Gravelines countered an extra eight made baskets by Strasbourg (29 of 67 vs. 21 of 58), with a 19 of 23 (82.6%) performance on the free throw line, where Strasbourg was only sent to the line for 8 free throws, making 6.
Strasbourg was lead by Alex Ajinca and Ricardo Greer with 15P/10R double-doubles each, and Jeremy Leloup, who scored 13. Gravelines got 16 each from Souleyman Diabate and John Holland.
LeMans – Antibes, 63:60
LeMans snapped a two-game losing streak on Saturday, taking a close 63:60 contest over newly-promoted Antibes. Reyshawn Terry led LeMans with 19, while Charles Kahudi added 12 points and 8 rebounds. Tim Blue was the only member of the Antibes contingent to score in double figures as he contributed 20.
LeMans got the early lead, getting up 20:17 after the first frame, but losing the advantage in the second when Antibes knotted up the score at 32 with a 12:15 second quarter. LeMans picked up a point in the third and then added two in the fourth to hang on for the win.
LeMans bumps their record to 3-2 and a tie for the fourth spot in the league, while Antibes sits at 1-4, tied with five other clubs with just 6 league points (2 for a win, 1 for a loss).
Roanne – Dijon, 69:60
Roanne broke up two streaks on Saturday with a 69:60 win on their home court over Dijon. They were able to stop their two-game skid with the win and they stopped the three-game winning streak that Dijon had with them when they arrived in Roanne for the fifth game of the season.
The hosts built a 15-point lead at half-time with a 26:12 second quarter score. Dijon won each of the last two quarters of the contest, but were only able to get to within nine in the end.
Roanne was led by Damien Inglis with 14 points and 7 rebounds, and Pape Philippe Amagou’s 13 points and assists. Dijon got a game-high 17 points from Mykal Riley and 11 points from Antoine Mendy.
Lyon-Villeurbanne – Chalon-sur-Saone, 85:75
Lyon-Villeurbanne got their first win of the season with a 85:75 decision against the now 1-4 Elan Chalon. It took a 27:19 third quarter by the hosts to put some distance between the clubs, as Asvel could only manage to get up by three at the half, 39:36. Chalon was only able to make up one point in the fourth, giving Lyon the 10-point win.
Chris Wright led Asvel in the key categories, with 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists. Edwin Jackson added 21 points and 5 assists, and Amara Sy added 12. AJ Slaughter was the only member from Elan that scored in double figures as he contributed 20.
Paris-Levallois – Pau-Lacq-Orthez, 83:90
Pau-Lacq-Orthez won their second game of the young LNB season with an 83:90 win over Paris Levallois. In their first season ascending to ProA, Pau-Orthez currently sits in a tie for seventh place with two other teams, while the loss drops Paris to 1-4 and at the bottom of the league.
The visitors would get all the advantage they needed to win the game with an 18:27 first frame. The clubs fought to a 20-all tie in the second to send the teams into the locker rooms with Pau up 38:47 at the break. They added three to their margin in the third, but gave up five in the fourth while preserving their win 83:90.
Pau-Orthez got a game-high 20 points and 7 rebounds from Ahmad Nivins, 18 points and 9 assists from Michael Thompson, 16 from Hristo Nikolov, and 11 from Banja Sy. Andrew Albicy tallied 19 points and 9 rebounds for Paris, Jawad Williams added 16 points, Nicolas Nicolas Lang dropped in 13, and Elton Brown scored 12.