The well-rounded guard did a little bit of everything to lead his team to a perfect start
Tyler Ennis leads Reyer past Aris, 95-75
Umana Reyer Venice enjoyed a strong start to the 2024-25 BKT EuroCup season by downing Aris Midea Thessaloniki 95-75 at Palasport Taliercio in Group B on Wednesday.
Jordan Parks led the winners with 17 points. Mfioundu Kabengele and Aamir Simms each added 13, Tyler Ennis tallied 12 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists, Amedeo Tessitori netted 11 points and Xavier Munford and Carl Wheatle each scored 10 for Reyer. Landers Nolley led Aris with 14 points. Eleftherios Mantzoukas and David de Julius each added 11 and Vassilis Toliopoulos had 10 for the visitors.
Game Videos
Nolley got Aris going with a three-pointer. Simms matched that with a layup-plus-foul and Ennis struck from downtown for a 6-3 Reyer lead. Kabengele took over with a dunk-and-foul and Parks's alley-oop slam boosted the hosts' lead to 11-5. Mantzoukas struck twice from beyond the arc and Toliopoulos's floater brought Aris within 15-13. Ennis and Munford fueled a 9-0 run that made it a double-digit game, 24-13. Trey Woodbury and Toliopoulos brought Aris closer, 30-22, after 10 minutes.
Alessandro Lever scored down low and Wheatle improved on Joshua Roberts's layup with a triple for a 35-24 Reyer lead. Molley hit a three-pointer and de Julius added a jumper, prompting the hosts to call timeout at 35-30. Mantzoukas insisted from downtown and an unstoppable James Banks dunked three times to tie it at 39-39. Ennis and Tessitori stepped up to help Reyer to a 47-41 lead at halftime.
Roberts hit a jump hook after the break and Molley added a triple to bring Aris within 47-46. Parks beat the shot clock with a corner triple and Ennis added a tip-in, igniting a 14-0 run that Simms capped with a two-handed dunk that broke the game open, 65-46. Woodbury and Banks rescued Aris, bringing their team within 69-57 at the end of the third quarter.
Parks dunked again early in the fourth quarter to restore a 72-57 Reyer lead. The hosts kept going to the foul line often and started to use longer possessions to run the game clock down. Aris could not find the way to the basket and Simms hit a wide open triple in transition that sealed the outcome, 79-62, as the guests never recovered.