Cluj, Trento and Hamburg were all victorious on Tuesday
Game Center: Key wins for Wolves, Hapoel, Buducnost, Bourg, Reyer
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Wednesday, January 22
Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius 88-76 Dreamland Gran Canaria
Wolves claimed a crucial victory in its fight for the playoffs by fighting off Gran Canaria to snap a two-game losing streak. Wolves bent but did not break, seeing the visitors wipe away a 14-point deficit, but the Lithuanian side never trailed and finished the game off for good with a 12-2 late run. Wolves improved to 8-8 after losing five of its last seven games. Gran Canaria fell to 10-6 after its fourth loss in the last five games. Marek Blazevic scored a career-high 27 points and Andrew Andrews had 25 points for the winners. Pierre Pelos netted 22 points and Caleb Homesley added 20 for Gran Canaria.
Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv 84-77 Bahcesehir College Istanbul
Hapoel defeated Bahcesehir in Samokov, Bulgaria, to improve to 10-6 and take over second place in Group A, while Bahcesehir dropped to 13-3 and saw its four-game winning streak come to an end. Both teams had already qualified to the playoffs before this game. Johnathan Motley led the winners with 19 points and 7 assists. Marcus Foster added 17 points and Yam Madar scored 16 for Hapoel. Furkan Korkmaz and Jaleen Smith paced Bahcesehir with 13 points apiece. Smith also delivered 7 assists.
Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul 87-72 Trefl Sopot
Besiktas held off a stiff challenge from Trefl before pulling away late. The result lifted Besiktas into fourth place in Group A with a 9-7 record, while last-place Trefl fell to 1-15. Jonah Mathews paced five Besiktas scorers in double figures with 21 points and Kyle Allman netted 17. Geoffrey Groselle paced Trefl with 16 points.
ratiopharm Ulm 82-85 Buducnost VOLI Podgorica
Buducnost kept its playoff hopes alive by edging Ulm. The hosts started strong, but Buducnost led for most of the game before a comeback saw Ulm take a narrow lead in the closing stages. Yet, Buducnost tightened up its defense in crunch time and clinched the road victory. The visitors claimed the head-to-head tiebreak advantage over Ulm and improved their record to 8-8, with Ulm dropping to 9-7. Rasheed Sulaimon led all scorers with a season-high 27 points and McKinley Wright netted 18 for the winners. Noa Essengue paced Ulm with 19 points and 7 rebounds.
Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse 87-79 Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana
Bourg took a big step towards booking a playoff berth with a hard-fought home win over Cedevita in Group B. Bourg improved to 9-7 while Cedevita dropped to 10-6. Maxime Salash paced Bourg on 22 points and 7 boards after a valiant effort, while Hugo Benitez and Xavier Castaneda scored 14 apiece for the home side, which weathered a late Cedevita storm after the visitors had slashed a 72-53 deficit with a 0-13 run. Devin Robinson netted a team-high 17 points for Cedevita.
Valencia Basket 106-65 Aris Midea Thessaloniki
Valencia took the inside track for the number one overall seed in the playoffs as it dominated Aris at home for a third straight win. Valencia already led by 26 points in the first half and cruised to a 14-2 record in Group B - moving one victory ahead of Group A leader Bahcesehir. Valencia hit the century mark on the scoreboard for the 10th time this season. Nate Sestina nailed 6 of 10 three-pointers for 18 points to lead the way for Valencia with Jean Montero adding 16 points and 7 assists. Aris dropped its fourth straight game for a 3-13 record and just one victory in the last 10 games. Vassilis Toliopoulos tallied 15 points as Aris’s top scorer.
Umana Reyer Venice 76-75 Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem
In a thriller that came down to the final shot, Reyer improved its chances to reach the playoffs by edging Jerusalem at home. Reyer improved to 8-8 in the standings while Jerusalem dropped to 9-7. Mfiondu Kabengele led the winners with 16 points and a game-saving block down the stretch. Carl Wheatle added 13 points for Reyer. Khadeen Carrington led Jerusalem with 21 points and Jared Harper added 17.
Tuesday, January 21
U-BT Cluj-Napoca 94-81 Turk Telekom Ankara
Cluj improved to 9-7 in Group B and stayed on course to reach the playoffs with two games remaining in the regular season after an impressive home win over Turk Telekom Ankara, which dropped to the same record. D.J. Seeley paced Cluj with a magnificent solo effort of 31 points, shooting 8 of 9 from downtown. Zavier Simpson also shined with a double-double of 21 points and 10 assists, scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter when Cluj fended off Turk Telekom’s attempted comeback. Anthony Brown paced Turk Telekom with 20 points.
Veolia Towers Hamburg 84-77 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys
Hamburg split the season series against Lietkabelis with a come-from-behind victory in Germany in a matchup of teams that had already been eliminated from playoff contention. Hamburg, which had lost 91-68 in Lithuania in Round 7, rallied from 17 points down (44-61) to improve to 4-12. The hosts snapped a three-game losing streak. Johnathan Stove scored 22 points and Kur Kuath collected 14 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals for the winners. Dorde Gagic netted a career-high 27 points and 6 rebounds in the loss. Lietkabelis has now lost four in a row to fall to 4-12.
Joventut Badalona 86-100 Dolomiti Energia Trento
Trento kept its playoff ambitions alive with a road win at Joventut, leaving the two teams tied at 6-8 just outside the Group A top six. Trento also holds the head-to-head tiebreak advantage after completing a season sweep of the Spanish team. Trento controlled the whole game, leading 44-52 at halftime and holding several double-digit advantages in the second half to cruise home. Myles Cale netted Trento’s first 10 points and top scored with 21, while Jordan Ford grabbed all of his 15 points in the last 12 minutes. Sam Dekker paced Joventut with 19 points in defeat.