Andorra stop short of the 100 points against San Marino

With the tone set the previous day, with both Andorra and San Marino having lost their opening games in the FIBA Small Countries competition, Wednesday afternoon was always going to be a tense encounter.
Andorra had the better of the opportunities to take the lead into the first break. However, San Marino pulled it back and finished the first quarter leading 27-22.
Andorra made a comeback almost immediately in the second quarter as they took the score to 35-33 in their favour midway through the period.
Andorra maintained their two-point advantage, responding to each basket from San Marino before taking the opportunity to increase their lead slightly from the free-throw line.
Similarly to the previous day, when San Marino had struggled to challenge for rebounds, they once again found themselves losing ground on the scoreboard as Andorra added to their tally of defensive rebounds. At one stage Andorra led 45-38 before San Marino were able to pull back two points. Andorra's response was emphatic, with a three-pointer.
The half-century mark was reached with two minutes remaining before half-time as Andorra led 50-42, although they had still not shaken off San Marino, who remained within striking distance.
A couple of misplaced passes soon saw San Marino lose further ground as Andorra led 58-46 going into the final minute of the second quarter, a score they took into the half-time break. Andorra had won the quarter 36-19, an emphatic turnaround from the opening period.
Andorra continued to flow in the third quarter as they stretched their lead to 63-49 within the opening minutes. San Marino were being punished whenever they lost possession in attack, with Andorra launching quick counter-attacks that were not being tracked back and defended.
Regrouping, San Marino clawed back some points for a short spell as they closed the gap to 65-55 with six minutes still to play in the quarter.
An infringement as Andorra scored a three-point shot did little to aid San Marino's comeback attempt, with Andorra now leading 69-57.
Indecision in attack saw San Marino fall further behind as Andorra moved to 78-59 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Andorra pushed the score to 83-65 by the end of the third quarter and looked comfortable as they chased what would have been the first century of points in this year's tournament.
Andorra slowed their pace in the final quarter and did not appear intent on reaching the century mark, allowing San Marino to cut the deficit as the score reached 87-71 midway through the period.
With four minutes still to play, Andorra were just four points away from reaching the century mark, leading 96-72.
The pace had now slowed, with less focus on defence, although Andorra remained compact enough at the back to frustrate San Marino.
For close to two minutes, Andorra saw numerous attempts to reach the 100-point mark fall short. Finally, with 44 seconds remaining, they moved to 99 points from a free throw. Yet, with San Marino holding possession in the final 20 seconds, Andorra opted not to attack the basket when they regained possession.
The match ended 99-79, one of the highest-scoring matches in recent years in the Small Countries competition.