88-81: UCAM, led by Ennis and Forrest, achieves a hard-fought victory against Leyma
He UCAM Murciawith the offensive leadership of Dylan Ennis and Michael Forrest -46 points between them-, took a hard-fought 88-81 victory against a feisty Leyma Coruña to place 2-3 in their baggage of wins-losses after five days in the Endesa League and, although the university students are still far from their best version, they overcame a rival whose good performance by Alonzo Verge Jr and Paul Jorgensen -25 and 20 goals- was not enough and who remains in the relegation zone, being penultimate with only one game won.
The crash occurred with the last minute loss in the UCAM CB of the Cuban forward Howard Sant Roos due to joint overload in the right ankle, which was added to the dragging of the Argentine point guard Juani Marcos due to a fibrillar micro-tear in the soleus of the left leg. In the Galician painting, Carles Marco He had all his troops at his disposal.
The team usually dressed in scarlet and today in blue started with two triples that Forrest converted and one more from Kaiser Gates and a layup scored by Emanuel Cate for the initial 11-1. The visiting team reacted immediately thanks to Jorgensen and a run of 0-11 with seven points from the New York shooting guard with an Italian passport turned the result around (11-12 in the 7th minute).
Toni Nakic ended the local drought from the personnel line and from there Jonah Radebaughadding from long distance and assisting for Jean-Marc Pansa’s mate, seemed to boost the Murcians. However, the last three points of the quarter came from Leyma, which reached the first break just one point behind (18-17).
The match had more errors than successes – for some reason both teams came into the match being second to last and second to last – and Jorgensen was the most in tune. His second triple for 10 points made another change in the score effective and the Galicians did not stop there. A 0-7 made it 18-24 and Sito Alonso stopped it from the wing. Back on the court, Ennis emerged and with the tie at 26, it was Marco who called a timeout.
That trend continued until halftime. The bad percentages, especially at home, caused the points to go up in the Palace’s electronic system little by little. Ennis, author of 12 at half-time, and Jorgensen, with 15, departed from that general script but the visitors finished better and hence they retired to the locker room three up (37-40).
The second half began like the first with a Murcian triple, which Nakic made on this occasion to tie and two free throws from Pansa to make it 42-40. The exchange of baskets and mistakes, too many, meant that neither team was able to open a gap. The match was played in fits and starts and thus went from 49-46 to 49-52 and from there to 58-52.
The fourth, in which Sito’s team improved somewhat in their shooting effectiveness, ended with a result that predicted strong emotions in the final ten minutes. In the absence of spectacle, the tension maintained interest and the 63-58 score left the match clearly undecided.
A triple by Souley Boum gave Murcia a lead that had not been there since the start (66-59) but Verge came to the rescue of his team, responding in the same way and also penetrating. The consequence of what the American base did was that the figures were compressed again. A triple by Tomas Dimsa made it 69-70 within the last five minutes.
Also from beyond the arc, Forrest and then Nakic hit when the alarms went off for UCAM CB. The 75-70 was pure oxygen for the university students three minutes and 25 seconds from the horn. Leyma was still there and got within one at 75-74 but a 2+1 from Cate and then another from Forrest, this one after a crucial steal of the ball, once again established the difference at seven.
It was the final sentence. The score of 84-74 with 1.11 left was the ticket to victory and that is what happened in a duel of alternatives in which the locals lost 17 balls and their opponent 20.
Technical sheet:
88. UCAM Murcia Basketball Club (18+19+26+25): Michael Forrest (22), Ennis (24), Falk (-), Gates (7) and Cate (6) -starting five-, Boum (8), Raieste (-), Radebaugh (5), López de la Torre (4), Pansa (4), Steinbergs (-) and Nakic (8).
81. Leyma Coruña (17+23+18+23): Verge (25), Dimsa (3), Uleckas (6), Radoncic (2) and Conditt (17) -starting five-, Jorgensen (20), Jou (-), Pacheco (4), Silins (2), Skapintsev (2) and Jaco Díaz (-).
Referees: Sergio Manuel Rodríguez, Jorge Martínez Fernández and Rubén Sánchez Mohedas. No eliminated.
Incidents: Match corresponding to the fifth day of the Endesa Basketball League that was played at the Palacio de los Deportes in Murcia before 6,065 spectators.
