EuroChallenge: Seven remain unbeaten

EuroChallenge week 2 fielded a roster of 13 games on Tuesday with the last three to be played today. After Tuesday’s matches Pinar Karsiyaka, BK Ventspils, Gaz Metan Medias, Khimik Yuzhne, Okapi Aalstar, EWE Baskets and BCM Gravelines came out of their second match with 2-0 records.

Group A
ETHA – Tofas SC, 57:78
Tofas SC travel to Cyprus and picked up their first win of the 2012-13 EuroChallenge season. They jumped out to a quick start, taking the first frame 15:28 and finished with a 9:23 final 10 to come out with a 57:78 win. ETHA drops to 0-2, while Tofas improves to 1-2.
Top Scorers:
ETHA: Dejan Cup 17; Donte Poole 10.
Tofas SC: Steven Burtt 23; Austin Nichols 15; Chinemelu Elonu 12 (12 rebounds).

Pinar Karsiyaka – KRKA, 79:56
Pinar improved to 2-0 in Group A with a decisive victory at home in front of 3,000 fans. The loss drops KRKA to 1-1 on the young season.
Top Scorers:
Pinar Karsiyaka: Umit Sonkol 16; Robert Disxon 12; Abdul Aminu 11; Ayhan Kentli 10.
KRKA: Edo Muric 17; Domen Lorbek 12.

Group C
Norrköping Dolphins – Södertälje Kings, 64:62
The Dolphins used a late surge to come from behind pick up their first win of the season. With 3:08 to play they were down by seven at 58:51, but put together a 9:0 run that put them up and then used charity tosses to close the deal. The Kings also move to 1-1 with the loss.
Top Scorers:
Norrkoping Dolphins: Oladapo Ayuba 11 (nine rebounds); Edgars Jeromanovs 10; Anton Saks 9.
Sodertalje Kings: Tobias Borg 19; Toni Bizaca 14.

Tampereen Pyrintö – BK Ventspils, 74:89
BK Ventspils moved to the top of the group at 2-0 with a big win in Finland. Pyrinto drops to 0-2 with the loss. Ventspils built a solid early lead in the first, only to squander it in the third and let Pyrinto back in the game. The hosts went up in the fourth, but BK used a 9:22 run over the last half of the fourth quarter to earn the win.
Top Scorers:
Tampereen Pyrinto: Kenneth Lowe 31; Lamonte Ulmer 10; Damon Williams 10; Carl Lindbom 10.
BK Ventspils: Ronalds Zakis 20; Martin Meiers 14; Folarin Campbell 13; Martins Laksa 11; Donald Sims 11; Arturs Berzins 11.

Group D
Tartu Rock – Gaz Metan Medias, 68:70
Gaz Metan Medias preserved their unblemished record at 2-0 with a nail biter in Estonia in front of 1,800. Their hosts found themselves down by three with one second left and two free throws. Valmo Kriisa missed the first, then missed the second in hopes of getting the rebound and a three off in time. They got the rebound and another foul, putting Egidijus Dimsa on the line for two more singles. He sank the first to draw the score to 68:70, missed the second in hopes of the offensive rebound again, but Deven Mitchell snagged it for Medias and secure the win. The loss dropped Tartu Rock to 0-2 on the season.
Top Scorers:
Tartu Rock: Egidijus Dimsa 15; Justin Ingram 14; Kristo Saage 11.
Gaz Metan Medias: Michael St. John 17; Deven Mitchell 16.

JDA Dijon – Khimik, 73:76
JDA let one slip away as committed two turnovers in the last six seconds of their home contest with Khimik. W. Deane of Khimik hit a pair of singles with 6 seconds on the clock to put Khimik up by one, 73:74. On the inbounds play Jeremy Leloup forced a pass that ended up with T. Campbell committing a foul and putting Khimik’s Devoe Joseph on the line to stretch their lead. He missed both singles, giving Dijon the ball back with the same score and same six seconds left when David Melody grabbed the rebound. Unfortunately for JDA, Melody had the ball stolen by Joseph, who made up for the missed free throws with the steal and an assist to Vitaliy Kovalenko, who took the last pass and sealed the win with a dunk at the horn. The win moved Khimik to 2-0 and dropped JDA to 0-2 on the season.
Top Scorers:
JDA Dijon: Zacherie Moss 14; Andre Harris 12; Jeremy Leloup 11.
Khimik: Willie Deane 17; Stanislav Zavadskyi 14; Devoe Joseph 12; Vitally Kovalenko 10.

Group E
Okapi Aalstar – BCMU Pitesti, 99:68
Okapi had a strong showing at home against BCMU in front if 1,250 loyals to move to 2-0 and sit alone at the top of Group E. The visitors dropped to 0-2 with the loss.
Top Scorers:
Okapi Aalstar: Ryan Thompson 15; Derek Raivio 14; Sir Jason Clark 13; Noah Hartsock 10.
BCMU Pitesti: Pankracije Barac 23; Drasko Albijanic 16; Damien Kinloch 14; Marcel Jones 10.

Paris Levallois – Mons-Hainaut, 84:86
It took Mons-Hainaut an extra five to grab a key road win when they traveled to Levallois and improved their record to 1-1 with an 84:86 decision. Paris-Levallois got out to an early seven point advantage after going up 23:16 after the first quarter, but Mons-Hainaut countered that by cutting the gap to one with an 18:24 second frame. Mons was down by two going into the final quarter and got down by as much as seven in the final frame, before fighting back to even the score halfway through. With just 18 seconds left they knotted things at 71 and held on to send the contest into extra time. With 14 left in OT Mons went up 78:82 on a pair of singles by Qunicy Taylor, then a Sean May triple cut the gap to one with eight clicks left. Joshua Bostic was fouled and hit his charity tosses to extend the lead back to three, then Paris doomed themselves with a turnover and subsequent foul. Monwell Randle hit his free throws to push the lead the five. Maleye Ndoye hit a three-ball with five to play, but it wasn’t enough and the two squads came out of the contest tied at 1-1 and sitting in the middle of Group E.
Top Scorers:
Paris Levallois: Sean May 22; Andrew Albicy 21; Jawad Williams 12; Maleye Ndoye 10.
Mons-Hainaut: Quincy Taylor 23 (11 rebounds) Brian Qvale 17 (10 rebounds) Joshua Bostic 14; Guy Muya 13; Monwell Randle 10 (8 rebounds).

Group F
Körmend – Szolnoki Olaj, 92:96
Szolonoki built a strong 37:51 advantage going into the intermission, then increased that to 60:77 heading into the final 10. Kormend outscored them 26:9 over the first eight minutes of the final frame to knot the score at 86. Seeing the score tied seemed to have woken up the visitors and they hit a three, got a steal and dropped in a deuce to earn a five-point margin back with 1:22 to play. Kormend was able to get to within three again, but never closer and Szolnoki picked up their first win of the young campaign, while Kormend remained winless at 0-2.
Top Scorers:
Kormend: Marton Bader 33 (14 rebounds); Akos Horvath 21; Ernests Kalve 15.
Szolnoki Olaj: Matthew Shaw 25; Zvonko Buljan 20; Andras Rujak 19; Vincent Simpson 17.

EWE Baskets – BC Timisoara, 84:67
EWE used strong first and third quarters to cruise to a solid 17-point decision at home in front of 1,700 in Oldenburg. The win improves their mark to 2-0 and moves them to the lone undefeated squad in Group F. The loss drops Timisoara to 1-1 on the year.
Top Scorers:
EWE Baskets: Ronald Burrell 16; Julius Jenkins 13; Robin Smeulders 12; Konrad Sysocki 11.
BC Timisoara: Ziatko Jovanovic 19; Dominique Archie 14; Robert Sarovic 10.

Group G
Tsmoki-Minsk – Apollon, 93:62
Tsmoki-Minsk turned on the scoring machines in the second half and ran over their Greek visitors in front of an impressive crowd of 4,000 in Minsk. The win improves the Tsmoki to 1-1, while Apollon drops to the bottom of Group G at 0-2
Top Scorers:
Tsmoki-Minsk: AJaJuan Smith 22; Aliaksandr Kudrautsau 20; Aliaksei Lashkevich 12; Aliaksei Trastsinetski10.
Apollon: Brandon Brown 24 (13 rebounds); Daryl Dorsey 10.

SLUC Nancy – BCM Gravelines, 68:80
SLUC Nancy jumped out to a 13-point advantage after the first quarter, 23:10, only to let BCM Gravelines back into the game in the third quarter being outscored 8:20 to even the score at 52 heading into the last quarter. BCM closed the deal with 2:15 run to start the final 10 and cruising to the top of Group G at 2-0. SLUC drops to 1-1 in group play with the loss.
Top Scorers:
SLUC Nancy: Marcellus Sommerville 18; Torrell Martin 17.
BCM Gravelines: Dwight Buycks 14 Sarra Camara 11 (13 rebounds).

Group H
Armia – Antwerp Giants, 71:80
5,000 fans packed into the Sports Palace in Tbilisi, Georgia with hopes of seeing their home squad pick up their first 2012-13 EuroChallenge win, but the Antwerp Giants had other thoughts and spoiled the hosts party with a 71:80 win. Armia built a 38:34 margin at the half, only to lose it all in the third and fall behind by two, 52:54, heading into the last quarter. The Giants dropped in three, three-pointers early in the last quarter and then connected on nine of 10 free throws in the last 37 seconds of the game to earn their first win (1-1) of the EuroChallenge season. The loss drops Armia to 0-2.
Top Scorers:
Armia: Curtis Millage; Lamayn Wilson 20 (13 rebounds); Marcus Faison 11.
Antwerp Giants: Bryan Hopkins 24; Ralph Biggs 14; Roel Moors 13.