Brynton Lemar stepped up big at Palasport Taliercio
Cedevita gets pivotal win in Venice, 75-80
Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana took a crucial step towards reaching the playoffs from Group A by downing Umana Reyer Venice 75-80 on the road on Wednesday. Cedevita improved to 7-4 in the standings and has a 2-0 record against Reyer, which dropped to 5-6.
Brynton Lemar led the winners with 23 points and Andrija Stipanovic added 10 for Cedevita. Jordan Parks and Mfiondu Kabengele led Reyer with 20 points apiece. Kyle Wiltjer and Rodney McGruder each added 10 for Reyer. Parks added 10 rebounds for a double-double.
Game Videos
Lemar got Cedevita going with a jumper. Joan Beringer added a put-back dunk and DJ Stewart's fastbreak layup caused Reyer to call timeout at 0-6. Aleksej Nikolic scored off an inbounds steal and then Beringer bettered Wiltjer's jumper with a huge dunk-and-foul for a 2-11 Cedevita lead. After Beringen scored again, Kabengele found his first points, but Lemar's three-pointer boosted the visitors' lead to 4-16. Parks stepped up for Reyer and got plenty of help from Kabengele to bring Reyer within 15-18. Stipanovic followed a three-point play with a put-back layup that made it 16-23. Martinas Geben and Devante Jones pushed the margin to double digits, 17-27, after 10 minutes.
Gregor Glas took over with a fastbreak layup early in the second quarter. Kabengele hit a stop-and-pop jumper and Tyler Ennis's three-point play brought Reyer within 22-29. Parks buried a corner triple to cap an 8-0 run. Lemar struck from downtown and Stipanovic's fastbreak slam prompted the hosts to stop the game at 25-34. Nikolic banked in a close shot and added a layup-plus-foul. McGruder followed a corner triple with a layup in a 7-0 run that got Reyer within 32-39. Geben hit a jumper before Kabengele and Jaka Blazic traded three-pointers. Wiltjer drew his team within 37-44. Blazic scored again and Parks's alley-oop dunk fixed the halftime score at 39-46.
Kabengele hit a close jumper soon after the break and McGruder struck from downtown to make it a 2-point game. Parks joined the three-point shooting to complete Reyer's comeback, 47-46, after a 10-0 run. Lemar stepped up with a backdoor layup and a fadeaway jumper. Devin Robinson scored twice in penetration for a 47-54 Cedevita edge. Amedeo Tessitori and Davide Casarin rescued Reyer before Stewart gave the visitors fresh air at 51-57. Tessitori beat the buzzer with a put-back basket that got Reyer within 53-57 after 30 minutes.
Geben hit a jump hook early in the fourth quarter and Lemar buried a five-meter jumper hat boosted Cedevita's lead to 53-61 with over 7 minutes left. Stipanovic scored down low and Blazic's fast break layup made it 53-65. After Robinson dunked off a steal, Parks did better with a three-point play and McGruder brought Reyer within single digits, 58-67. Lemar hit an off-balance jumper in the lane and bettered Simms's driving layup with a bomb from beyond the arc. Kabengele followed a jumper with his second three-pointer. Simms added a coast-to-coast dunk that cato used Cedevita call timeout at 69-75. Stewart stopped the show with a huge dunk that sealed the outcome, as Reyer did not recover in the final 2 minutes.