The university team secures its first win of the season in its home debut, with Radebaugh (16 points) and Pansa (11 points and 12 rebounds) leading the way
Barcelona, visibly fatigued down the stretch, fell 100-94 in its visit to UCAM Murcia and surrenders the league lead it held after the first matchday of the Liga Endesa.
Kevin Punter's 18 points and Justin Robinson's 17 were not enough for a team that scores fluidly but struggles defensively, and the 100 points allowed at the Palacio de los Deportes in the capital of Segura are a clear indication of that.
This UCAM-Barcelona matchup was a repeat of the quarterfinal series from last season in both the Liga Endesa and the Copa del Rey—in both cases the Catalans advanced—and arrived with some absences in both rosters.
Howard Sant-Roos remained sidelined in the squad coached by Sito Alonso compared to the 84-77 loss to FIATC Girona.
Yoan Makoundou, Tosan Evbuomwan, and Josh Nebo were the absences for Aleksander Sekulic in a team that arrived at this matchday as league leaders following the 119-101 debut victory over Leyma Coruña and after a double EuroLeague matchday as visitors—a loss to Dubai Basket 94-87 and a subsequent victory over Turkish Besiktas 82-95.
From the start, the home team showed intensity but Kevin Punter's accuracy, with eight points including a three-point play, led to early Barcelona advantages up to 7-10 with three minutes played.
Three-pointers from Dylan Ennis and Juani Marcos, who was Barcelona's point guard until a few months ago, and three free throws made by Marcis Steinbergs gave UCAM CB the lead again (18-14). The last four points went to the Catalan team and the quarter ended tied at 18.
The back-and-forth scoring—with Darío Brizuela prominent for the blue-clad Catalans, today in turquoise—made the second quarter progress evenly and Olivier Nkamhoua and Punter, from long range, left the score at 31-33.
Sito called a timeout. Back on the court, the university team replied from the perimeter, with Jonah Radebaugh and Souley Boum, and that prompted Sekulic to call one with the score at 42-37. With Marcos distributing and Jean-Marc Pansa dominating inside, the gap grew even larger (44-37 and 46-39) but Punter and Joel Parra, two veterans, appeared again, and Barcelona not only minimized the damage by halftime but arrived at it tied 46-46.
Justin Robinson, one of the newcomers, showed his quality by hitting a three-pointer at the buzzer and that basket capped off a 0-7 run in the final minute and a half of the first half.
Olek Balcerowski also contributed offensively, Robinson continued hot in the second half, and Parra as well. Hence the 51-56 after a tremendous dunk by the Barcelona wing.
From then on, scoring became difficult, not so much for Radebaugh from distance, and the numbers remained tight (60-61).
A three-point play by Pansa returned control to the home team (63-61) but Umonja Gibson, with ten straight points, responded quickly (68-71). It was becoming an intense and closely contested game. In fact, the final ten minutes began with the score at 70-73 after a Balcerowski offensive rebound.
The fourth quarter started with seven straight points from the home team and at 77-73 Sekulic called his players to the sideline. There was still another three-pointer, this one from Michael Forrest, to cap off a 10-0 run that showed the way (80-73).
Barcelona had another comeback with Parra and Robinson taking offensive responsibility (83-82) but UCAM CB had far from said its last word.
A somewhat fortunate basket by Pansa and a three-pointer by Toni Nakic sent the home team back ahead (88-82). Boum, with his team's eleventh three-pointer and his second, made it 93-85 inside the final three minutes.
Barcelona looked fatigued and its opponent took advantage to seal the win. It reached 96-87 though there was still some suffering to come. Punter was on the other end and that's always dangerous.
An impressive three-pointer from the New Yorker, the game's leading scorer with 18 points, with Sander Raieste draped on him, narrowed it to 96-92 with 23 seconds remaining. The university team managed those final seconds well and secured the victory, reaching 100 points with 30 of them in the fourth quarter.
Box score:
100 - UCAM Murcia Club Baloncesto (18+28+24+30): Boum (15), Ennis (9), Falk (2), Nakic (9) and Cate (9) -starting five-, Michael Forrest (11), Raieste (7), Marcos (8), Radebaugh (16), Pansa (11) and Steinbergs (3).
94 - Barcelona (18+28+27+21): Justin Robinson (17), Punter (18), Joel Parra (8), Minaya (-) and Balcerowski (12) -starting five-, Gibson (10), Tyrese Martin (6), Umude (2), Brizuela (7) and Nkamhoua (14).