By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
On paper, ASVEL could have hoped to still make it to the play-ins with an upset in Istanbul.
That was not the case, as Fenerbahce BEKO got the 92-82 win and remains second in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings with a 20-9 record.
Wade Baldwin had 15 points and six assists, Errick McCollum and Bonzie Colson added 10 points each, while Sertac Sanli (photo), Marko Guduric, and Nicolo Melli scored nine points each.
“For me, being out for a while, it’s nice to finally play a home-court game in the EuroLeague,” Baldwin told EuroLeague TV after the final buzzer. “It was good to come out with the win tonight against a tough team.”
Joffrey Lauvergne had his best game of the season with 20 points and nine rebounds, and Nando De Colo added 13 points and 11 assists, but it was not enough as ASVEL dropped to 11-18, four wins away from the 10th spot.
Fenerbahce in control
Fenerbahce closed the first period with a 9-2 run, building a 30-23 advantage, which set the tone for the rest of the game. Despite nine points and four rebounds in six minutes of action by Lauvergne, ASVEL was already trailing.
Fenerbahce stretched the lead to 10 points (38-28), but ASVEL, with Lauvergne taking action again, trimmed the lead to one (38-37) after their own 9-0 run.
The hosts reacted, and after a three by Marko Guduric, Fenerbahce was up by eight again (49-41), and De Colo at the buzzer with a three made the halftime score 49-44, while Lauvergne already had 17 points.
Errick McCollum opened the third period with five straight points, pushing Fener‘s lead back to 10 points (54-44). Jilson Bango added two points (56-44), and that was the end of it.
Shaquille Harrison trimmed the lead to six (64-58) for ASVEL, only to get injured on the next possession, and at the end of the third period, Fenerbahce was up by 10 (70-60) after a Devon Hall three.
ASVEL proved feisty, making it again a six-point game (70-64), but Fenerbahce had five unanswered points (75-64) and kept their distance until the end.
Photo credit: EuroLeague