By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
JDA Dijon gambled away a double-digit lead but then took back control for an 88-73 home win against Nizhny Novgorod in the Basketball Champions League Round of 16.
David Holston was leading the winning squad with 21 points and six assists while Saulius Kulvietis added 14 and Axel Julien 13 points.
For Nizhny, Brandon Brown answered with 19 points in addition to Pavel Antipov’s 12 and Michael Jenkins’ 11 points.
Dijon was slightly ahead after the first quarter (20-17) and led by Holston’s 13 and Kulvietis’ ten points reached a 43-33 lead but Nizhny cut the deficit to 44-40 by halftime, thanks to Brown and Jenkins.
The game stayed balanced after the break and was tied at 56 late in the third quarter, however, Dijon went on a crucial 14-0 run which pushed them to 70-56 early in the fourth quarter. The guests answered with five straight points but that’s all they could do and the French team held them off until the end.
Inexplicable performance
“It’s 56-56, we have full control of the game, we knew what we want. I can’t explain the game and the decisions of some of my players in that period,” coach Zoran Lukic said about Dijon’s run, visibly not satisfied with his players’ performance. “Especially, the 19 turnovers and it’s 12 from my big guys. We knew Dijon’s offense, we prepared for it and we did it only once in the game. So, maybe that is a question for my players.”
Dijon took the 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series and the rematch is scheduled for March 11 in Russia.
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League