Nineteen three-pointers — a new club record in the Basketball Champions League — carried Unicaja to a 99-94 win over Pallacanestro Reggiana on Tuesday night at the Martín Carpena in Málaga, Diario Sur reported. The number matters because it is not just a personal best for this season: Marca reported that the 19 made threes broke the club’s all-time BCL mark, and the damage was spread across the roster, with Matt Thomas hitting six and Amine Noua five, while Tyler Kalinoski and Kendrick Perry each added three.
Unicaja led by as many as 18 points, 98-80 with about three minutes left, before Reggiana closed the game on a 0-14 run that narrowed the margin to five. El Español described the finish as a wake-up call: what had looked like a rout built in the third quarter ended as a one-possession game on the scoreboard.
Noua and Thomas Set the Tone From Deep
Amine Noua was the standout, finishing with 27 points, five rebounds and a 27 efficiency rating, figures Marca confirmed. Matt Thomas, playing on a short-term contract with only a couple of weeks left, added 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc. El Español noted that Thomas scored the basket that put Unicaja up 18 before the late collapse, and that his production came in a game where head coach Txus Vidorreta had otherwise kept him out of the rotation.
Reggiana’s top scorer was Barford with 22 points, and JT Thor added 14, but the Italian side could not match Unicaja’s perimeter volume. Marca reported that four Unicaja players — Thomas, Noua, Kalinoski and Perry — each hit at least three threes, a distribution that made the comeback mathematically difficult even when Reggiana found its own range late.
How the Game Unfolded Quarter by Quarter
Diario Sur reported that Reggiana closed the opening period up 25-16, with Thor scoring 11 of his team’s 13 points before halftime of the quarter and Visconti adding a pair of triples. Unicaja’s early problems were defensive and on the glass: the hosts could not stay in front because of breakdowns, and rebounding was the main reason for the deficit, Diario Sur reported.
Unicaja outscored Reggiana 27-18 to reach halftime tied at 43-43, with Kalinoski’s two threes pulling the hosts within two points at 31-33 before Perry and Thomas reeled off short 5-0 bursts, according to Marca. After the break, Reggiana briefly regained the lead 50-45 on perimeter shooting, but Unicaja answered with eight three-pointers between minutes 22 and 30 of the game — Perry, Thomas and especially Noua punishing the visitors — to build the 75-64 advantage that carried into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter was 24-30 in Reggiana’s favor, the 0-14 run arriving when Unicaja led 98-80. Diario Sur reported that Vidorreta had to stop the game during the visitors’ surge, but the damage was contained. Kendrick Perry was disqualified for fouls, Marca’s box score noted, and the referees were Julio Anaya of Panama, Martin Vulic of Croatia and Juozas Barkauskas of Lithuania.
Unicaja Secures Group E Dominance
The result was Unicaja’s third victory in the BCL group stage, El Español reported, consolidating first place in Group E and putting the team on track for a direct berth in the Round of 16. Diario Sur framed the performance as confirmation of Unicaja’s status as the favorite to reclaim the Champions League title, citing the team’s form and Noua’s current level.
The game also carried a somber note: a minute of silence was held for Jesús de Miguel, a Tenerife player who died on Tuesday, Diario Sur reported. Official attendance was 6,170 at the Palacio de los Deportes José María Martín Carpena.
Roster Puzzle Around Matt Thomas and Kevin Knox
La Opinión de Málaga reported that Vidorreta faced a selection puzzle for the game because BCL rules require at least five homegrown players among the 12 on the scoresheet. With only four healthy locally trained players available — Melwin Pantzar, Nihad Djedovic, Jonathan Barreiro and captain Willy Hernangómez — including Hernangómez forced one healthy foreign player to sit out. Thomas had been the scratch in the opener against Juventus Utena and Simonas Lukosius in the second game against KVIS Pardubice; Thomas played Tuesday and scored 20.
The arrival of Kevin Knox, who watched the game courtside, narrows the rotation at the forward spots, Diario Sur reported. Once his paperwork is cleared, Knox could debut Sunday at 17:00 in Zaragoza, which would push Thomas’s remaining weeks with the club into sharper focus.
Reggiana’s Youth Teams Visit Málaga
Beyond the senior game, Unicaja’s official website reported that Pallacanestro Reggiana’s U12 and U14 squads spent several days in Málaga training with Unicaja’s youth coaches, playing friendly matches against Unicaja’s pre-infant girls’ team and EBG Málaga 2015 before attending the Champions League game at the Carpena.
What Happens Next for Unicaja
Unicaja’s next confirmed fixture is Sunday’s 17:00 tip in Zaragoza, where Kevin Knox could make his debut if his documentation is finalized, Diario Sur reported. The win over Reggiana leaves Unicaja unbeaten in Group E with three wins, and the Round of 16 looms as the next milestone in the competition.
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