FC Barcelona fall to Estudiantes, 102-96

Estudiantes, 102
FC Barcelona, 96

FC Barcelona lost on the road to Estudiantes in a lively affair that was up in the air until the end. Barça, just two days removed from a road victory over Panathinaikos in Greece, bore witness as Estudiantes turned the game upside down halfway through the third quarter. Things really started to heat up down the stretch, but the home side were able to hit key free throws when it mattered most and came away victorious.

Xavi Pascual's men were hot out of the gate thanks to the shooting of Justin Doellman and were up 31-21 at the start of the second quarter. Barça then tacked on five more quick points, going up by 15, when Estudiantes began to show some life. The first half came to a close after a Nacho Martín three-pointer closed the gap to 57-50.

Estudiantes clawed back to tie the game at 62-62 halfway through the third quarter, and then buckled down on defense. They went up by ten points with five minutes remaining, when a combination of solid shooting from the line and a pair untimely technical fouls called on Barça's Marcelinho wrapped things up for the hosts.

GAME STATISTICS

Estudiantes (21+29+21+31): Javier Salgado (20), Fede Van Lacke (25), Xavi Rabaseda (7), Nacho Martín (24) and Uros Slokar (12) -starting five-, Stefan Bircevic (2), Jaime Fernández (-), Diamon Simpson (11), Juan Hernangómez (1), Llorente (-) and Martínez (-).

FC Barcelona (31+26+13+26): Marcelinho (9), Hezonja (8), Thomas (16), Doellman (25) and Tomic (8) -starting five- Pleiss (12), Lampe (6), Satoransky (7), Nachbar (-) and Navarro (5).

Referees: Conde, Pérez Niz, Aliaga