By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Despite the absence of Thaddus McFadden, who suffered a distension in the ligaments of the left ankle, UCAM Murcia still managed to get the upper hand over SIG Strasbourg, beating the French team 80-78.
Jordan Davis was by far the best player on Sito Alonso’s team, as the Northern Colorado product ended the game with a giant double-double of 28 points and 10 rebounds.
Travis Trice, the other backcourt member, added 15 points and 6 rebounds. Niels Giffey made his Basketball Champions League debut with the new team by scoring 10 points.
Matt Mitchell, who had 26 points against UCAM Murcia, has now scored 17+ points in each of his last five BCL games with SIG Strasbourg, after scoring that many points only once in his previous 13 games. Marcus Keene added 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.
After what seemed like a domination by the home side in the first quarter (29-16), Lassi Tuovi’s team came back in the third quarter (15-23) but didn’t manage to tie things up as Matt Mitchell missed a three-pointer on the buzzer.
Strasbourg got the best in points from turnovers (22 vs 15), while Murcia found more second-chance points (12 vs 4). The shooting percentage from the free-throw line was the key difference, as UCAM Murcia shot 26/30 and Strasbourg went 19/31.
After averaging 20.5 offensive rebounds per game, the most of any team in the BCL this season, UCAM only grabbed 9 of them against the French side.
The Spanish team, which has now won its last 11 home games in the Basketball Champions League, is on top of Group A with a 2-1 record thanks to this win against Strasbourg, which has now lost its last three away games in the BCL after winning six of the previous seven.
PHOTO CREDIT: Basketball Champions League