Hunter, AEK overwhelm hosts Dijon in second half for convincing win

DIJON (France) - For 20 minutes, JDA Dijon breathed fire and looked like they might upset AEK in France on Tuesday night and get a valuable Group C win in the Basketball Champions League.

But then the third quarter happened.

AEK, getting a superstar performance from Vince Hunter, overwhelmed Dijon with their swarming defense and pounding of the boards and turned an eight-point deficit at half-time into a 70-61 lead. They kept the pressure on over the final 10 minutes to claim a 90-80 win.

Hunter, who made some headlines in the first Basketball Champions League campaign when he was on the books of Avtador Saratov, finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds, 4 steals and a +39 efficiency rating. The athletic center made all 12 of his shots from the floor.

AEK came at Dijon in waves on defense in the decisive third quarter and Giannoulis Larentzakis was a big part of that. He ended up with 10 points, 9 assists and 2 steals but had to exit the game late in the fourth quarter after picking up his second unsportsmanlike foul.

Another solid performance was turned in by Jonas Maciulis. The veteran had 10 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists for AEK. As if that wasn't enough for Dijon to contend with, they also had to chase Xavier Rathan-Mayes, who had 15 points, all over the court.

The extra attention spent on trying to contain all of those players often left Dusan Sakota open from 3-point range. Just 1 of 7 from deep in the first half, Sakota nailed 2 of 3 after the break.

David Holston (20 points, 5 assists, 2 steals) and Alexandre Chassang (18 points) were excellent at times for Dijon, as was Gavin Ware (14 points) and Obi Emegano (13 points).

But AEK were far too focused and good on the night. 

AEK improved to 3-1 while Dijon dropped to 1-3.