Nancy 86
January 30, 2007 CET: 20:30
Local time: 20:30 RHENUS SPORT
Strasbourg took the first step to reach the ULEB CUp quarterfinals for the first time in club history by edging archrivals Sluc Nancy 89-86 at home on Tuesday, in the first game of the two-way series. Nancy will host the final and decisive game with the ambition to overcome the three-point deficit in the series. Chuck Eidson led the winners with 23 points on 9-of-12 two-pointers. Aerick Sanders posted a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds, Lonnie Cooper, John McCord and Claude Marquis each added 12 points while Sacha Giffa had 10 for Strasbourg. Cyril Julian had 21 points on 9-of-12 two-pointers for Nancy. Tariq Kirksay and Branko Milisavljevic each added 13, Cedrick Banks had 11 and Victor Samnick 10 for the guests, who used a 0-9 final run in the first half to get a 39-48 edge at the break. Eidson was the main factor in a 13-0 Strasbourg run after halftime, as Giffa and Cooper helped the hosts to get a 66-57 lead. Julian and Milisavljevic allowed Nancy to get a 68-69 edge early in the final period, but Sanders and the ever-present Eidson combined for 6 points in the final 90 seconds to please its many fans with a home win and give Strasbourg a slim lead in the series.
McCord got Strasbourg going with a fast break layup, as both teams traded baskets at full speed early in the game. Dan McClintock gave Nancy its first lead, 5-6, but Marquis shined with back-to-back baskets and Eidson added a driving layup to put Strasbourg back ahead, 11-8. McCord dunked it and capped a 8-0 run with a layup off a steal, 1-8. Kirksay shined with a reverse layup that Eidson erased with a mid-range jumper. Milisavljevic fired in one from downtown but Michael Smith did the same for Strasbourg and Sanders dunked it for a 22-15 lead. Kirksay kept hitting free throws but Sanders and a three-pointer by Smith made it a nine-point game, 27-18. Samnick joined the three-point festival to bring Nancy within 27-21 after 10 minutes. McCord kept pacing Strasbourg with free throws but Julian erased it with a jump hook and Ricky Soliver added a jumper for a 29-25 Nancy deficit. McCord scored again but McClintock shined with a hook shot and soon added a driving layup to bring the guests even closer, 31-29. Sanders buried a short jumper but Soliver answered from downtown to force a Strasbourg timeout at 33-32. Eidson dunked it in traffic but Julian scored in the paint and Banks added a tough basket to put Nancy back ahead, 35-36. Samnick fired in his second triple and even when Eidson took over with a big basket, Julian's put-back basket gave Nancy a 39-41 edge. Samnick scored twice in the low post while DeRon Hayes beat the buzzer with a triple to cap a 0-9 run that gave Nancy a 39-48 halftime lead.
Giffa buried a big triple and Marquis dunked it to get the hosts within 44-48. Eidson followed an easy basket with an outstanding reverse layup to give Nancy a 50-48 lead. Nancy could not beat the hosts' zone defense while Eidson scored again to cap a 13-0 Strasbourg run. Julian hit free throws for Nancy and Banks added a corner triple but Marquis and Giffa kept the hosts ahead, 56-53. Julian scored in the paint but Cooper answered from downtown and Eidson made free throws for a 61-55 Strasbourg edge. Julian kept pacing Nancy but Eidson and Cooper buried consecutive triples for a 66-57 score. Once again Julian shined with a three-point play and Sanders added a put-back layup before Kirksay and Milisavljevic fixed the score at 68-64 after 30 minutes. Milisavljevic scored in transition early in the final period and soon added a triple to give Nancy a 68-69 edge, after a 0-9 run. Marquis and Kirksay traded put-back layups hile Sanders buried a short jumper for a 72-71 Strasbourg edge. Cooper fired in a corner triple but Banks and Julian tied the game again, 75-75, with less than 6 minutes to go. Giffa nailed a triple and added a driving layup, good for a 80-75 Strasbourg edge. Banks scored in penetration but Cooper answered from downtown. Julian shined with back-to-back layups while Kirksay dunked it off a midcourt steal for a 83-83 tie with 90 seconds to go. Sanders took over with a power layup while Eidson scored in traffic. Milisavljevic's three-point play brought Nancy within 87-86 before Eidson hit free throws to give Strasbourg a three-point lead in the series.
ULEBCup.com
Referees: ARTEAGA, JUAN CARLOS; LOPES, LUIS; CHIARI, ROBERTO
Strasbourg 27 12 29 21
Nancy 21 27 16 22
4 COOPER, LONNIE 31:45 12 0/4 4/6 3 3 7 1 3 2 4 16
5 DARRIGAND, GAUTHIER 10:00 0/2 2 -4
7 MARQUIS, CLAUDE 29:45 12 6/9 2 2 4 1 2 3 1 2 16
8 SANDERS, AERICK 26:30 14 6/8 2/3 5 6 11 2 2 1 3 2 22
9 SMITH, MICHAEL 14:30 6 0/2 2/5 1 1 1 1 1 3
10 GIFFA, SACHA 17:45 10 2/3 2/2 1 2 3 1 4 1 8
11 NISSIM, AFIK 5:15 0/2 1 -1
12 McCORD, JOHN 27:30 12 4/7 0/1 4/4 1 1 2 2 3 2 2 2 17
13 EIDSON, CHUCK 31:00 23 9/12 0/1 5/6 1 6 7 8 1 4 4 5 31
15 MADRICH, DIRK 6:00 0/1 0/1 1 1 -1
Totals 200:00 89 27/46 8/20 11/13 11 23 34 19 8 16 7 0 15 16 109
Head coach: GIRARD, ERIC
4 BANKS, CEDRICK 30:45 11 4/6 1/6 1 2 3 1 2 4 1 1 4
5 PIAULT, MATTHIAS GUILLAUME DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
6 NJOYA, SAIDOU DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7 JULIAN, CYRIL 33:45 21 9/12 3/3 2 7 9 2 1 2 1 4 29
8 McCLINTOCK, DANIEL 9:45 8 4/5 1 1 1 2 5
9 SOLIVER CARRASCO, RICARDO 13:15 5 1/2 1/1 3 1 1 7
10 ZIANVENI, MAXIME 12:30 2 1/4 0/1 1 1 3 3 1 2
13 SAMNICK, VICTOR 23:30 10 2/6 2/3 1 2 3 2 2 1 1 1 7
14 HAYES, DERON 12:30 3 0/1 1/1 2 2 4
15 KIRKSAY, TARIQ 36:45 13 4/10 0/1 5/6 2 4 6 5 4 2 2 3 19
16 ABOUBAKAR ZAKI, AMADOU DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
17 MILISAVLJEVIC, BRANKO 27:15 13 2/7 2/2 3/3 3 2 3 1 3 4 10
Totals 200:00 86 27/53 7/15 11/12 11 19 30 15 12 14 0 7 16 15 86
Head coach: MONSCHAU, JEAN-LUC
GIRARD, ERIC
"I feared for the physical condition of the players, but when it deals with players who really want to play this is no longer a problem. It was a really interesting game to coach for both Jean-Luc and I, the players were fantastic considering the context, that is the game, only two days ago, against Pau; but the players managed to do one more serious game against one of the best team of the French Championship and the ULEB Cup."
MONSCHAU, JEAN-LUC
"It was a real good game, first; a wonderful opposition of two talented teams that gave their best. The result shows that we had a though opponent and a good rhythm. It's the 12th game in two years between the two teams, only one time the score difference was over 10 points. We always have that kind of opposition between us and I admit that it's a pleasure to play against this team. From time to time in this game, each team had its moment."
GIFFA, SACHA
"At the beginning we played on a wrong rhythm, we let them slow us down and had problems with some fouls. We knew we had this game in our hands, we had a strategy but we just had to put things in order. We did not win over three points we just won this game, now we are going to play in Nancy and have to win. It's just halftime."
Eliminatory H
Gran Canaria 84
January 30 21:00 CET LIVE FINAL
Eliminatory I
Hapoel Migdal 88
Eliminatory J
Eliminatory K
Snaidero Udine 75
Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius 72
Eliminatory L
Eliminatory M
Khimki 77
Eliminatory N
Hemofarm 73
Eliminatory O
PAOK 62
Montepaschi 79