Simon Says Strasbourg Win

A monster performance from David Simon fired Strasbourg to a 76-67 victory over Apoel on Tuesday night in EuroChallenge Group H.

The 2.06m center erupted for 26 points and hauled in 14 rebounds for the French outfit, which took the lead for good with a 10-0 run in the third quarter.

After Milan Dozet's two free-throws gave Apoel a 37-32 advantage, Strasbourg took over.

Tremmell Darden made two at the charity stripe for Strasbourg before Thomas Heurtel followed with one of his three three-balls.

Simon followed with a lay-up before Steeve Essart connected from behind the arc with one of his three treys.

Apoel managed to reduce the arrears to one point on three occasions, the last at 46-45 with 1:46 to go in the third quarter.

Simon came to the rescue, catching a pass by Heurtel and burying a jumper.

He then tipped in his own missed shot for a 50-45 advantage.

Strasbourg delivered the knockout punch at the beginning of the fourth quarter when they outscored Apoel 8-1 for a 60-49 lead.

Apoel got no closer than six points the rest of the way.

Heurtel had 15 points for Strasbourg while Dozet led Apoel with 20.

Quotes Strasbourg vs Apoel Nicosia

Frédéric Sarre, Strasbourg head coach:

 "It was important to get this win especially after our missed-game last Saturday. Our first half was a little chaotic but we had the capacity to play better in this second. We don't do a lot of changes in this second half time, because the players on the court did their job well.
It's another competition and it was our opening game. It's always important to win those games."

Sacha Giffa, Strasbourg player:

 "The game was balanced and we found a good inking with David Simon. We had the same marks as at practice and we had only to play our game. Basketball is a collective sport. Everyone in the team wanted to pass the ball, we defended and attacked at 5 and in the end it's complicated we win!"

Christos Stylianidis, Apoel Nicosia head coach:

 "We played with more confidence at the beginning but David Simon and his influence in this game made our job very hard. Now, it's just on defeat. We'll play our next games better!"

Gerben Van Dorpe, Apoel Nicosia player:

 "Strasbourg played harder in the second half and it cost us the game. We fought at the end but it was too late. Strasbourg put more strengh in this game and we slowed down, especially in defense. Our opponents found the confidence at the right time."