Bourg rallied from 18 points down, but Reyer showed character in crunch time
Reyer holds off Bourg in rollercoaster clash, 99-102
Umana Reyer Venice got back to winning ways by defeating Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse 99-102 at Ekinox on Wednesday night. A high-scoring first quarter saw Bourg take a narrow 33-31 lead into the second, with the two teams going into halftime tied at 56-56. The visitors tightened up their defense and outscored Bourg 9-27 in the third to take an 18-point lead into the closing quarter. But the hosts pulled off an incredible comeback to get back in front, 89-88, midway through the fourth. Yet, Reyer showed character and turned the game around to improve its record to 6-6 – the same as Bourg following its home loss.
Mfiondu Tshimanga Kabengele led all scorers with 26 points plus 10 rebounds for yet another double-double. Kyle Wiltjer netted 17, Rodney McGruder had 16 and Jordan Parks chipped in with a double-double of his own by recording 13 points and 10 boards. Tyler Ennis also scored 13, with Amedeo Tessitori adding 12 points. Jordan Usher paced Bourg with 24 points and Maksim Salash netted 21 – 16 of which came in the fourth quarter. Xavier Castaneda scored 13 points, Hugo Benitez had 12 and Joel Ayayi added 10.
Game Videos
Kabengele got Reyer going with a midrange jumper and a triple for an early 2-7 lead. Usher replied with 5 unanswered points before Ayayi put Bourg in front, 11-9, with back-to-back baskets. Jean-Marc Pansa and Ayayi scored from close range, but Reyer responded with a 0-7 run fueled by Parks, who tied it at 18-18. Usher completed a three-point play that took his tally to 10 points, but a bucket from Kabengele and a triple from Ennis put Reyer back in front, 21-23. Baskets from Usher, Benitez and Maxime Courby gave Bourg a 31-28 edge. Then, a triple from Juan Fernandez was followed by a buzzer-beating bucket from Ayayi for a 33-31 lead after 10 minutes.
Courby and McGruder traded triples to start the second quarter before a layup from Wilson Jacques made it 38-34 for the hosts. Two hard-fought baskets from Tessitori sandwiched Ayayi’s bucket inside before a Jacques jumper and a Courby slam in transition opened a 44-38 lead. McGruder and Benitez exchanged triples, with the latter netting inside to maintain a 50-43 cushion. Then, McGruder scored again from deep before a floater from Wiltjer, another three from the former and a basket from Kabengele put Reyer ahead, 52-54. Yet, Castaneda and Adrian Nelson netted in the paint to tie things up, 56-56, at the break.
Parks opened the third quarter with a couple of dunks followed by a layup to open a 57-64 lead for Reyer. Five unanswered points from Kabengele, including a three-point play featuring a monster slam, gave the visitors their first double-digit cushion, 57-68. Then, Wiltjer completed a three-point play and Tessitori scored inside to pull away, 58-74. Bourg netted its first field goal of the third quarter with 1:50 to go, when Benitez completed a three-point play that reduced the deficit to 61-76. Tessitori scored 4 points off the bench to restore a 65-83 lead heading into the closing quarter.
Bourg opened the fourth with a 15-1 run, as Usher scored 6 points, Salash added 7 to his tally and Castaneda made 2 from the charity stripe to slash the difference to 80-84. It took Reyer almost 3 and a half minutes to score a field goal, with Kabengele netting back-to-back baskets to restore an 82-88 lead. Salash nailed 2 triples to complete Bourg’s incredible comeback by putting his team back in front, 89-88. But Reyer fought back, with Wiltjer netting three clutch baskets and Kabengele scoring inside to make it 93-98 and practically seal the outcome.