Mejri, Tunisia prove too much for Nigeria

RADES (AfroBasket 2015) - Tunisia proved too much for Nigeria in Sunday's highly-anticipated game of AfroBasket 2015 Group A as the hosts held off the Western Africans 70-59.

Playing in front of an almost sellout crowd boosted the Tunisians who played their best game of the tournament so far.

As a result of the win, Tunisia head into the Round of 16 as winners of the group ahead of the Nigerians, Central African Republic (CAF) and Uganda.

Tunisia opened the contest with a 14-0 run, and led by as many as 22 points.

Star big man Salah Mejri led by example, with 22 points and 7 rebounds.

He blocked shots, dunked, made shots from three-point range (2 for 2), dished out an assist, did the job on the boards and, unsurprisingly, was the local fans' favourite as they cheered with every right play he made.

Ben Uzoh led Nigeria with 13 points and Michael Gbinije added 10 including two of which came off a tremendous dunk on Mejri in the third quarter.

It was the first time the teams faced each other since the 2012 Olympics in London where Nigeria topped Tunisia 60-56.

Turning Point: Michael Roll made a three-pointer with 56 seconds remaining to give Tunisia a 10-point lead. Then he added another long bomb to close out the contest.

Stats Don't Lie: Excellent ball movement from Tunisia resulted in 19 assists compared to Nigeria's nine.

Game Hero: Roll is beginning to win the heart of Tunisians as he poured in a crucial 12 points.

The Bottom Line: The win is a major statement of Tunisia's intention in the tournament. They outplayed Nigeria. Although Nigeria fought hard throughout, they were nowhere near their original title credentials. In a recent interview with FIBA.com, Nigeria forward Olaseni Lawal had said that facing Tunisia was going to be an early test for them moving into the knockout round. It turns out, Nigeria failed Tunisia's first test.

 

FIBA