Athinaiou dagger sees Aris past Avellino

THESSALONIKI (Basketball Champions League) - Giannis Athinaiou hit an off-balance mid-range jumper that proved to be the dagger as Aris came from behind for a 59-56 win over Sidigas Avellino on Tuesday evening.

Jason Rich's last gasp three-point attempt did not hit the rim as he thought he was fouled, with both teams now having a 3-3 record in Group D.

Gary Bell led Aris with 16 points, Panagiotis Vasilopoulos had 15, most of which came in the first 10 minutes, whilst Athinaiou finished with 9 points and 5 assists.

"I think it was a very interesting game," said Aris Head Coach Panagiotis Giannakis.

"We had a lot of pressure because last five games we didn't have the results we wanted. The schedule of the team was very hard, we're travelling a lot and we have some injuries, so we didn't have the time to have the progress.

"I have to congratulate my players, game by game we play with more intensity and we also try to have more clear mind than we had before. It was a difficult game for us, we were down but we didn't lose our concentration and discipline." 

Back to back threes to open the second half from Maarten Leunen and Dez Wells provided Avellino with a cushion that they would cling on to. A Jason Rich jumper with 5:41 left in the third would give Avellino their biggest lead of the game at 9 points.

An 11-4 run in the fourth saw Aris tied it up at 55 after a Kwame Vaughn free throw, before a Vasilopoulos layup gave Aris their first lead of the second half with a little over 90 seconds remaining.

Ndiaye could only split a pair at the line to pull Avellino within one, setting the stage for Athinaiou's clutch dagger to seal the outcome.