Elan Chalon improved to 2-1 in Group B and ties for the second spot in the standings by downing Ovarense Aerosoles 86-99 in Ovar, Portugal on Tuesday. Chalon ties with Ventspils for the second place in Group B, one win away from the unbeaten leader Besiktas Cola Turka. Meanwhile, Ovarense dropped to 0-3 and needs to start winning right away to rejoin the elimination rounds race. John Ford paced the winners with 22 points on 6-for-9 two-pointers and 10-for-10 free throws. Joachim Ekanga added 18, Rowan Barrett had 14, Moussa Badiane 13 while Xavier Corosine and Shawnta Rogers each got 11 points for Chalon. Gregory Stempin led Ovarense with 34 points. He also buried 8-for-15 triples and now ties with 7 other players for most three-pointers made in a ULEB Cup game. Cordell Henry added 14 points, Rui Da Mota 13 and Graham Brown 12. Ovarense led 13-6 early and still managed to keep a 25-21 edge after 10 minutes, led by an unstoppable Stempin. It didn't last long, however, as Chalon used a 0-18 run to get the lead for good.
Elvis Evora got Ovarense going with consecutive baskets, igniting a 13-6 opening run in which Stempin had 8 points, including 2 big triples. Barrett answered from downtown but Ovarense managed to keep the guests scoreless for the next 2 minutes. Meanwhile, Brown scored twice for a 17-9 Ovarense margin. Barrett kept pacing Chalon, as he followed a triple with a basket-plus-foul for a 20-19 deficit. Da Mota hit one from downtown and Stempin scored again for a 25-21 Ovarense edge after 10 minutes. Chalon managed to shut down Stempin, while Ford had 7 points in a game-breaking 0-18 run that make the hosts call timeout at 25-39. Ovarense found a new go-to guy in Henry, who hit free throws and stroke twice from beyond the arc to bring the hosts back to life, 35-41. Corosine and Rogers buried respective triples to keep Chalon way ahead, 41-52, at halftime. Rogers and Jermaine Guice helped Nancy to keep full control of the game after the break. Even when back-to-back triples by Stempin gave Ovarense some hope at 49-60, Badiane and Rogers fueled a 0-7 run that kept Chalon out of trouble at 49-67. Ekanga paced Chalon in the final minutes of the third quarter, as he stroke twice from downtown for a 65-82 margin after 30 minutes. Stempin and Da Mota tried to ignit the hosts' comeback but Corosine singlehandedly kept Chalon ahead, 71-88. The guests soon boosted their margin to 74-93 and cruised to a well-deserved win.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
ULEBCup.com
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