CBA-Euroleague Challenge report: Benetton 75-82 Sydney Kings
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The Sydney Kings struck a blow for Australia at the CBA-Euroleague Challenge by rallying from 12 points behind in the second half to down Benetton Basket Tamoil 75-82 on Monday in Kunshan, China. Sydney used a 2-18 blast at the start of the final quarter to turn the game on its head and make sure that each continent represented at this groudbreaking tournament came away with a victory. Mark Worthington was the big gun for the Aussies, pouring in 24 points, including 11-for-11 accuracy in free throws. Glen Saville added 17 points, Jason Smith 12 and Isiah Victor 12 for the winners. Lionel Chalmers led Benetton with 17 points, while Mario Austin had a double-double of 16 and 11 rebounds, while Demarr Johnson chipped in 12 points. Benetton shot just 4 for 25 from the three-point arc, a factor that hurt while Sydney made its sudden comeback.
Sydney got off to a great start as Dontaye Draper blasted to the basket for a pair of layups and Jason Smith drained a three-pointer for a 0-7 lead. Luke Kendall upped that to 1-9 before Benetton got its first basket, a jumper by Matteo Soragna. Sydney kept pouring on the points, however, as Worthington helped boost the lead to 5-15. Benetton had seen enough, however. Johnson buried his first triple and Soragna added a basket at the start of a 13-5 run of which the rest of the points were free throws until Engin Atsur finished the quarter with a driving layup to make it 18-20 after a quarter.
Sydney reestablished control early in the second quarter as Victor and Saville combined for 9 points that boosted their team in front by 23-29. Atsur drilled a shot from downtown to steady Benetton a bit at 26-29, then Pops Mensah-Bonsu hit a pair of turnarounds in the paint to hint at a takeover by his team. But as close as Benetton got, tying at 33-33 on Mensah-Bonsu's free throw, Sydney wouldn't give in. Worthington and Draper were good at the foulline and Cameron Tovey drove for a layup. That kept Sydney a step ahead only until Chalmers beat the buzzer with a lean-in bank shot to send the teams to the lockers all tied up at 38-38.
Benetton came out after the break and made its move by going to Austin. He responded with the first 6 points of the half. Chalmers followed him with a pair of fastbreak baskets, including a dunk that finished off a 12-0 run that gave Benetton the biggest lead of the game at 50-38. Worthington woke up Sydney then with a shot from the paint. And when Soragna drilled a triple for Benetton, Worthington matched him at the other end. Sydney kept going to their big man but needed a triple from Victor just to stay within 59-51 after three quarters.
Sydney came out in the fourth quarter like it had in the first - even better. The Aussies exploded on a 2-18 run that completely turned the game on its head. Worthington started it with a hook shot, Saville took over in the middle with a trio of baskets, and then Smith and Worthington added the punctuation with back-to-back triples that left a 61-69 scoreboard. It ws Benetton's turn to react, as Chalmers and Austin combined on 7 points to get within 68-73, but Sydney knew well how to manage that margin, making 11 out of 12 free throws down the stretch to preserve the victory.
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