Toliopoulos and Morgan Keep Aris Perfect at 5-0 With 78-73 Win Over Cedevita

By Taki Panos

Aris did not need to be pretty on Wednesday night, they just needed to be perfect, and they still are. Vassilis Spanoulis's side beat Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 78-73 at Nick Galis Hall in Thessaloniki in Round 5 of the BKT EuroCup, moving to 5-0 in Group A. Vassilis Toliopoulos lit the spark early in the fourth quarter and Matt Morgan finished the job, per the Aris club site and in.gr.

For anyone just catching up, this has been quite a run. Aris beat Rostock Seawolves 110-79 in Germany last week to reach 4-0, and they routed AEK 88-58 at home in the Greek league earlier this month. Wednesday's result was their seventh straight win in all competitions, according to the club. Aris and Hapoel Jerusalem are now both 5-0 at the top of the group, and together with Napoli they are the only unbeaten teams left in the EuroCup, per Eurohoops and Sportando.

The start looked promising. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl knocked down two early threes for a quick 6-0 lead, per Eurohoops and the Aris site, and the hosts took a 21-19 lead after the first quarter. After that, the rhythm disappeared. Aris turned the ball over too often, the whistles kept coming, and Cedevita, who arrived in Thessaloniki still looking for their first group win, grew in confidence.

The Slovenian side went ahead 39-34 late in the second quarter, and Aris needed a small push before the break just to cut the gap to 39-38 at halftime, per in.gr. The third quarter was more of the same, a tight back and forth with neither team able to build anything, and it ended level at 57-57. In a building known for its noise, there was more nervous tension than celebration for long stretches.

Then came Toliopoulos. The Greek guard scored eight straight Aris points in the fourth quarter, starting with a two for 61-57 and then hitting back-to-back threes that took Aris from 63-60 to 69-60, per the Aris site and to10. Sportando counted a 12-3 Aris run to open the period, and for the first time all night the hosts had real breathing room. Toliopoulos finished with 10 points and went 2 of 4 from deep.

Cedevita did not go away. Morgan's three-pointer made it 74-65, but the visitors answered and cut the lead to 74-70 with time running down, per to10. That is when Morgan took over completely. He scored four straight points for 78-70 with about a minute to play, and in fact he scored the last seven Aris points of the night, per to10 and in.gr. Cedevita's final basket came at the buzzer and only made the score look closer.

Morgan led Aris with 18 points and was sharp at the line, 6 of 7, per the in.gr box score. Robinson-Earl had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, Dimitrijevic added 12 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Liddell and Mokoka scored 11 each. With Toliopoulos at 10, that made six Aris players in double figures, a stat the club itself highlighted after the game.

Spanoulis started Mitrou-Long, Dimitrijevic, Mokoka, Robinson-Earl and Birch, and he leaned on depth all night. The free-throw line mattered a lot in a game this choppy. Liddell alone went 7 of 9, per in.gr, and those points kept Aris afloat during the long spells when nothing was falling from the field.

For Cedevita, Hurt was the main problem for the Aris defense with 19 points, while Cowan added 14, per Eurohoops and in.gr. The loss leaves the Ljubljana club at 0-5 in the group. It was a much better showing than their record suggests, though, and Aris needed the whole 40 minutes to put them away.

Spanoulis was honest about the performance afterwards. "It was an ugly game, without rhythm, with many free throws and many fouls. But we found a way, I'm proud of the players," he said, per PaixeBala (translated from Greek). He also told Gazzetta, "We found a way to win, we won't always win by 15-20 points," adding that "it wasn't the prettiest game to watch, but we will learn from how we won it" (translated from Greek).

My take: this is the kind of win that tells you more than a 30-point blowout. Aris had an off night for three quarters, the turnovers piled up in the hall named after Nick Galis and they still found a way. Toliopoulos stepping up as a Greek leader in the big moment is a great sign, and Morgan keeps proving he wants the ball when it matters. They will need to be sharper soon, though, because the schedule is about to get much tougher.

Next up is a big one. Spanoulis said Aris will now prepare for Panathinaikos in the Greek league, calling them "one of the best in Europe" (translated from Greek, per PaixeBala), and then comes a EuroCup showdown with fellow unbeaten Hapoel Jerusalem for first place in the group. If you want to see where Aris sits among the top basketball clubs in Greece, or follow the rest of the week's action, keep an eye on our Greek Sports section. Five down, plenty more to play for.

Sources: Aris BC, to10, in.gr, Gazzetta, PaixeBala, Eurohoops, Sportando.

Image: Aris crest, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).