EuroChallenge: Three clubs remain undefeated

EuroChallenge

EuroChallenge week three finds three groups sporting an undefeated club and three teams with 1-2 records and one group with three clubs sitting at 2-1 and one at 0-3. Pinar Karsiyaka got their third win with an 89:70 win over Joensuun Kataja; Krasnye Krylia picked up win number three on the road against Tofas SC, 70:78; and EWE Baskets also earned their third victory on the road against Okapi Aalstar 80:103.

Group I
BK Ventspils – Gaz Metan Medias, 96:64
BK Ventspils picked up their first win in the EuroChallenge Last 16 with a 32-point dominating victory over Gaz Metan Medias Tuesday. The win locks Ventspils, Gaz Metan, and Joensuun Kataja at 1-2, while Pinar Karsiyaka is leading the pack at 3-0.

Gaz Metan held the lead on two occasions in this contest, at 2:3 when Kyle Shiloh dropped in a three-ball and then at 4:5 when Shiloh hit a deuce. After that, it was all Ventspils as they came out of the first quarter up 29:16 and then went into the break up 52:33. The hosts added eight more to the margin at the end of the third and then five more in the fourth to finish the contest up 96:64.

Martins Meiers and Folarin Campbell lead the way for Ventspils with 14 points, Sandis Valters contributed 13 points, and Martins Laksa added 12 points and 8 rebounds.

Shiloh paced Gaz Metan with 14, and Rares Mandache added 12.

Pinar Karsiyaka – Joensuun Kataja, 89:70
Pinar Karsiyaka stayed at the top of Group I with a perfect record after earning a solid 19-point win over Joensuun Kataja. The Finnish club dropped to 1-2 and in a three-way tie for second place.

Pinar started the contest with a 20:4 run, which was partially countered by Kataja with a 2:11 run on the way to a 29:20 first quarter. The hosts ran off 13 unanswered early in the second to get up 48:25, but the guests finished the half with a 3:12 run of their own. Pinar added eight to their lead in the third and cruised in the fourth to pick up their third win.

Robert Dixon was game-high with 28 for the hosts. Jon Diebler added 19 points and 5 assists.

Jermaine Flowers paced Joensuun with 17 points and 6 rebounds. Petri Virtanen added 10 points.

Group J
Paris Levallois – Szolnoki Olaj, 93:71
Szolnoki Olaj lost their first contest of the Last 16 falling to Paris Levallois by 22 points, 93:71. The win for Paris improves their record to 2-1, which puts them in a tie for the group lead with Szolnoki and BCM Gravelines.

The two clubs played to a 19:17 first quarter, and the guests opened up a 10-point margin heading into the intermission, 35:45. The second half was all Paris, outscoring their guests in both the third and fourth quarters, 29:14 and 29:12.

Jawad Williams was game-high for Paris with 23 points and 11 rebounds. John Cox and Antoine Diot added 15 each and Andrew Albicy dropped in 13 points and dished off 5 assists.

Rashad Bell and James Florence put up 13 points each for Szolnoki.

BCM Gravelines – Hapoel Holon, 86:80
Jerome Dyson put on a shooting exhibition on his own for Hapoel Holon, tallying 42 points, but it wasn’t enough to get his club over the hump as they fell to BCM Gravelines, 86:80. The win improves Gravelines to 2-1 and in a tie for first with Paris Levallois and Szolnoki Olaf at 2-1. The loss drops Hapoel Holon to 0-3.

Gravelines took a two-point margin into the dressing rooms at the half, 33:31. The hosts added four points to the lead in the third by outscoring the guests 24:20, to head into the final 10 with a 57:51 advantage.

Hapoel got to within two with seven seconds to play on a triple by Dyson, but Dwight Buycks hit two free throws with five seconds to play to put the game out of reach.

Buycks’ 15 points, 5 steals, and 4 assists paced BCM Gravelines, and Yannick Bokolo added 14 points and 7 assists.

Dyson’s 42 points accounted for more than half of Hapoel’s total and Franklin Hassell contributed 24 points and 12 rebounds. Dominic Waters dished off 9 assists during the game.

Group K
Norrköping Dolphins – Khimik, 76:81
Khimik earned their first Last 16 win with a five-point victory over the Norrköping Dolphins, 76:81. The contest puts both clubs at 1-2 and in a tie for second place with Tofas SC.

The two clubs battled through 12 lead changes in the first half to retire to the dressing rooms at the half with the Dolphins up by one, 37:36.

Khimik jumped out in the third with an 0:8 run, to be up 42:51 mid-way through the frame. The lead was 10 until a Martin Ringstrom triple right before the horn cut the margin to seven, 55:62.

The hosts cut the gap to two-points with 1:31 to play, but Khimik ran off five unanswered to push the margin back to seven with less than a minute left. Khimik held off the late game challenge dropping in seven of eight free throws down the stretch.

Vitaliy Kovalenko lead the way for Khimik with 14 points. Stanislav Zavadskyi added 12, Willie Deane and Sergiy Popov dropped in 11 each. Deane also turned in a 7 assist performance on the night.

Edgars Jeromanovs was game-high for the Dolphins with 22 points and 5 rebounds. Keith Gabriel added 17.

Tofas SC – Krasnye Krylia, 70:78
Krasnye Krylia stayed perfect on the Last 16 round with a 70:78 win over Tofas SC, who dropped to 1-2 and part of a three-way tie for the second spot in the group.

The contest was close for most of the 40 minutes as the Tofas fans saw nine lead changes and 12 tie scores through the first three quarters. A 1:11 run that bridged the end of the third and early fourth put Krasnye up for good, even though Tofas was able to get to within two-points with 3:49 to play, 69:71. Krasnye was perfect with their free throws in the last 30 seconds to keep the game out of reach for the visitors.

Andre Smith dropped in 32 for Krasnye, Chester Simmons added 15 and Nikita Balashow added 12.

Austin Nichols led Tofas with 16 and Chinemelu Elonu added 15 points and 8 rebounds.

Group L
Tsmoki-Minsk – Telekom Baskets, 74:70
Tsmoki-Minsk earned their first Last 16 win by holding off a late charge by Telekom Baskets to put a 74:70 victory in the books. The results put both clubs in a tie for second at 1-2, trailing EWE Baskets at 3-0.

This game came down to the last 20 seconds with Tsmoki-Minsk holding a 72:70 advantage. Aliaksandr Kudrautsau was fouled, but missed both singles. Aliaksei Trastinetski stole the ball from Jared Jordan on his way down to set up for an shot at the win or the tie. Trastinetski was fouled and sealed the game with two singles with four seconds left on the clock.

Aliaksandr Pustahvar led the hosts to the win with 16 points, while Aliaksandr Pustahvar and Kudrautsau added 14 each.

Benas Veikalas was game-high with 21 points. Robert Vaden added 16 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Jordan contributed 15 points and 4 assists.

Okapi Aalstar – EWE Baskets, 80:103
Okapi Aalstar fell into a three-way tie for second place in Group L with an 80:103 loss to the undefeated EWE Baskets.

EWE used a 0:14 run in the initial frame to get up 12:31 after the first 10. Okapi fought back in the second, outscoring EWE 31:16 in the frame to pull to within four at the break, 43:47.

The second half was all EWE as they out ran their hosts 37:56 in the final 20 minutes to end the contest with an 80:103 victory for the German club.

Julius Jenkins dropped in a game-high 25 for EWE Baskets, followed by Dru Joyce’s 16 points and 7 assists.

Ryan Thompson paced Okapi with 23 points and 6 assists, Thomas Dreesen added 17 and Bradley Tinsley dropped in 16.

Group I

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Group J

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Group K

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Group L

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