Nancy Come Up With Road Win Against Dexia

John Linehan had 13 points and 6 assists for Nancy

Nancy survived a tense finish to see off Dexia Mons-Hainaut in their Group H clash tonight.

Nancy had a seven-point lead, 77-70, with 74 seconds left, but ended up relying on a miss from Quincy Taylor on the buzzer to preserve the victory.

The Dexia fightback was started by Ronald Lewis' three-pointer before Shan Foster added another 12 seconds later to make it 77-76 with 48 tickets.

Kenny Grant missed a three for Nancy, but then Lewis was off-target at the other end, forcing him to foul Willie Deane.

He could only split his free throws, leaving Taylor with a chance to win it from beyond the arc but his shot bounced clear as the buzzer sounded.

The tense finish followed a topsy-turvy affair which had seen Nancy take a big lead at the start of the second quarter before Dexia stormed back to tie it just before half-time.

The hosts then led briefly before Nancy took control again, only to come close to throwing it away at the end.

Akinlolu Akingbala scored 19 points and added 11 rebounds to lead Nancy to victory, while Stephen Brun added 17 points, John Linehan 13 and Deane 11.

Taylor had 19 points for Dexia, with Lewis adding 18.

Quotes Dexia Mons-Hainaut vs. SLUC Nancy

Alexandre Libert (Player of Dexia):
"We had many difficulties to enter in a fixture, and we were obliged to run after the score during almost all the game...From time to time, we played very good, but it wasn't easy in front of a defense very agressive, and as we were unlucky in the three points shots, our task became quite difficult. The team struggled hard to succeed in the last seconds,but once again,we missed the last shot..."

Arik Shivek (Coach of Dexia) :
"First,I want to congratulate Nancy,because the team was very strong,but my players, despite the fact they seemed tired, didn't give up, and I particulary appreciate their reactions in the second quarter, and in the last minutes. We could have won the game, but with a weak percentage in the the tries at three points,it was not easy. Now,we have lost the two first games, but I think it's possible to reach the second round, because our average isn't unfavourable if we win the games to come. The four teams are very near each other,and everything is possible..."

Tremmel Darden (Player of SLUC Nancy):
"I knew Dexia very well for having played against with Charleroi,and I told my guys it woulnd't be easy, because the crowd is always behind it's team whatever happens. In fact,it's a team which never renounced,and when we were leading by nine points in the last minutes, our hosts came back, and finally, we were lucky in the last attempt, but I think we deserved the success for having lead during almost all the game."

Jean-Luc Monschau (Coach of SLUC Nancy):
"Dexia is a team which is always dangerous, and despite the fact we were always leading, we could have been beaten at the last second! There were two similar half-times,because two times, we were nine points ahead, but my players were short of ruggedness to settle more firmly their advance...It's obvious that some players lacked of experience, but I'm very satisfied of the team which is becoming homogeneous with the time. We've made a big step to the second round,but everything can happen in four games!"