Tyler Haws scored in double figures for his second straight game, but it wasn’t enough to help Rio Natura Monbus as they fell 82-75 to Laboral Kutxa on Sunday. Rio Natura held a 62-56 lead heading into the fourth quarter, but got outscored by 13 in the final quarter to fall to 1-1 on the young season.
Darius Adams and Ioannis Bourousis led the way for Laboral Kutxa as they improved to 2-0 on the year. Adams had 23 points on 9 for 15 shooting from the floor, including 5 for 9 from beyond the arc. He added four rebounds, three assists and a steal in 30 minutes. Bourousis had 17 points on the strength of an 8 for 8 shooting night from the free-throw line while hitting 4 of 5 shots from the floor to go along with a game-high 13 rebounds.
Former Utah standout Kim Tillie was the only other player to reach double-digits in scoring in the win. He totaled 17 points on 8 for 12 shooting from the floor with five rebounds and two steals in 29 minutes.
Angelo Caloiaro and Artem Pustovyi paced Rio Natura in the loss. Caloiaro registered 17 points on 5 for 8 shooting from the floor and 6 for 6 from the line to go along with four rebounds, two steals and two blocks while Pustovyi chipped in with 13 points on 5 for 7 shooting from the floor with a game-high six assists, five rebounds and a block. Adam Waczynski also had a solid performance with 13 points on 5 for 10 shooting from the floor, including 2 for 3 from beyond the arc.
Haws finished with 10 points on 4 for 9 shooting from the floor, including 1 for 2 from 3-point range and a make on his only free-throw. He added a game-high three steals and a rebound in 19:29.
On the season, he is averaging 10.5 points on 60 percent shooting from the floor, including 66.7 percent from beyond the arc and 100 percent from the free-throw line to go along with 2.5 steals and 2.0 rebounds in 21 minutes.
Up next for Haws and Rio Natura Monbus is a matchup with CAI Zaragoza. CAI Zaragoza is 1-1 on the season after an 84-64 win over UCAM Murcia on Sunday. Their loss came at the hands of a FC Barcelona squad that features Ante Tomic and Carlos Arroyo.
They are led by Joan Sastre Morro and Tomas Bellas. Sastre Morro is averaging 13 points on 78.6 percent shooting from the floor with 2.5 rebounds while Bellas is contributing 11 points on 41.2 percent shooting from the floor and 100 percent from the free-throw line with 3.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds.
Henk Norel and Drake Diener (De Paul) are also making nice contributions. Norel is averaging 10.5 points on 46.7 percent shooting from the floor and 100 percent from the charity stripe with 5.0 rebounds while Diener chips in with 10.5 points on 71.4 percent shooting from inside the arc to go along with 2.5 rebounds in 20 minutes.
One other name of note on the roster is former Hawaii player Isaac Fotu. He is averaging 6.5 points on 41.7 percent shooting from the floor with four rebounds and three assists in 22.5 minutes.