Eurochallenge: Round 2 recap
Round 2 of the Eurochallenge Second Stage is almost complete after seven games were held around Europe on Tuesday night. We will turn our attention to Round 3 after Bakken welcome KTP to Denmark on Wednesday night.
Three teams remain undefeated at this stage of the Second Stage as the groups begin to take shape. TU/Rock downed Antwerp in Estonia to stay unbeaten in Group I while Krasnye Krylia defeated Gaz Metan Medias on the road to keep pace in the table. In Group J Szolnoki Olaj picked up a home win over KRKA Novo Mesto but Reggio Emilia remained top despite losing on the road at Cholet.
The action in Group K saw BK Ventspils pick up a home court win over Dijon, although Royal Hali Gaziantep stayed undefeated at the top with an away win over Triumph Lyubertsy. Ural Ekaterinburg snatched a one point win over Tsmoki Minsk to stay unbeaten after the only clash of the night in Group L.
Group I
Tartu Rock vs. Antwerp, 82-74
Tartu University Rock overcame Belgian club PO Antwerp Giants in Estonia to take control of Group I in the Eurochallenge as the only undefeated team. The winners now take a 2-0 record into Round 3 while Antwerp is in second with 1-1 and still has plenty to play for in the Eurochallenge this season.
The hosts put together an early 9-2 run to take advantage in the first quarter with the score at 21-12, but Antwerp dragged it back to 23-17 after the first period. In the second the visitors put together their own spurt as they hit 14 points and conceded just 3 in reply. At the intermission the score was level at 38 apiece. Another run, this time from Tartu (13-2) gave the home team the initiative in the third as the team held on for 64-53 after thirty minutes. Tartu extended the lead to 14 early in the 4th (67-53) but yet another streak from Antwerp (3-17) made the score 72-70 in the last moments, although six points from Augustas Peciukevicius sealed the win for the home team.
Peciukevicius had a barnstorming game for Tartu by hauling 24 points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks, while Vilmantas Dilys added 20 points.
Ryan Pearson scored 21 points in the losing effort, with an additional 15 coming from Roel Moors and 12 from Frank Turner.
Group K
Triumph Lyubertsy vs. Royal Hali Gaziantep, 74-78
Turkish club Royal Hali Gaziantep traveled to Russia and came away with a road win over Lyubertsy that keeps the club top of Group K. The victory takes Gaziantep to 2-0 in the group while the Russian club stays second on 1-1.
The visitors opened the game in fine fashion and took an early 6-14 lead. However, the hosts responded in great fashion with a 12-0 run that ended the first quarter with the score at 18-14. Lyubertsy continued to extend the lead early in the second by pushing their run to 18-2 (24-16 on the board), but Gaziantep got themselves back in the game to trail at halftime by just one point (38-37). The game continued to be tight throughout minutes 20 to 30 and by the end of the third quarter the one point advantage for the hosts was maintained at 56-55. Gaziantep went 8 points clear early in the fourth (62-70) but once again the home team came roaring back to tie the game at 70-70 with 67 seconds left of regulation. With the game heading for overtime, Baris Ermis sank four free throws in the last 10 seconds to give the away team the victory.
Ermis was the standout performer for the winners with 23 points, 10 assists, four steals and three rebounds. Dejan Borovnjak netted 17 in victory.
Courdon Higgins high scored for Lyubertsy with 17 points.
Group L
Tsmoki Minsk vs. Ural Ekaterinburg, 96-97
Ural collected a very narrow win over home team Bakken as the Russian team remained undefeated at 2-0 in Group L. Tsmoki Minsk moves to second with a record of one loss and one victory.
The hosts went ahead early at 10-3 and put together a 14-2 run on the way to a commanding 29-18 lead after 10 minutes. With the cushion already at 11 points, Ural Ekaterinburg found another gear and started to put more plays together, however it was Minsk holding the lead at the midway point with the board reading 43-36. The visitors were closing the deficit throughout the third but the home team still held a 66-61 after half hour of play. During the fourth quarter Ural grabbed the lead for the first time at 76-75 and after trailing for most of the game held on to snatch an unlikely last gasp win.
There were two double-double performers for the winners, with Dmitry Flis collecting 23 points and getting 13 rebounds and Aaron McGhee posting 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Keith Benson Jr. contributed a game high 25 points for Minsk.