Late Surge Not Enough For Prostejov

Roanne Basket flirted with a late collapse but held on to prevail 87-85 at BK Prostejov.

John Holland had 29 points and nine rebounds for Roanne, whose victory has left both sides with 2-1 records in Group C.

The French outfit was a club in crisis after parting with coach Jean Denys Choulet before last week's home win over BC Goverla.

Luka Pavicevic, the former ALBA Berlin boss, will now take over a side that has won three in a row under interim coach Frederic Brouillaud.

Roanne made things very difficult for themselves at the end.

With 2:36 to play, the fans back home were already celebrating as their team had an 84-66 lead following an Andre Barrett three-ball.

Barrett hit all four of his attempts from long range on the night and Roanne were nine of 16 as a team.

But Kamil Svrdlik replied for Prostejov, who went on to score 17 points in a row and trail just 84-83 with 19 seconds to play.

A key sequence came at the end of that run when Pavel Slezak made a three-pointer and was fouled on the shot by Philippe Braud.

Slezak drilled the free-throw to make it a one-point game.

Souleymane Diabaté, having had a three-week suspension imposed by Choulet lifted after the coach's departure, drew a foul and missed the first free-throw but make the second.

Prostejov called a timeout and decided to turn to Jamar Smith, whose game-winning three-pointer lifted Prostejov past BC Goverla in the club's opening game.

Smith got the ball but missed inside the arc and Roanne rebounded.

After Andre Barrett sank two free-throws, Smith hit a shot at the buzzer to leave Prostejov with a two-point defeat.

Smith's 19 points led Prostejov.

Quotes BK Prostejov vs. Chorale Roanne Basket

Prostejov coach, Zbyněk Choleva:
"Congratulations to our opponent. They deserved the win more because they were in the lead for the entire game. We did not start the game well, got ourselves under pressure and it was difficult for us to get back into the game. I appreciate how big will and heart our players showed, to get closer at the end of the game."

Prostejeov player, Matej Venta:
"Our opponent was better today. It was difficult for us to play against their tough defense and that decreased our shooting percentage."

Roanne interim coach, Frederic Brouillaud: 
"We are happy for the win. We prepared well for the game. We did a good job with preparation against the key players of our opponent. We had the game under control for 38 minutes. It was unbelieveable how many mistakes we did in the last 2 minutes. However, we are happy for closing out the game successfully."

Roanne player, Philippe Braud:
"We needed to win this game on the road. Our coaches prepared our team well and we executed their game plan. Even though the number of mistakes at the end was huge, we were able to win the game and we are looking forward to next home games that we have to and we want to win."