This is the final round before the mid-season break
Game Center: Road wins for Granca, Bahcesehir among Wednesday's 6 games
Wednesday, November 13
U-BT Cluj-Napoca 100-91 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys
Cluj recorded its second consecutive home win in Group B by thrashing Lietkabelis at home in Round 8 on Wednesday. Cluj improved to 4-4 in the standings while Lietkabelis dropped to 2-5. Zavier Simpson led the winners with a club record 32 points plus 5 assists and Zach Hankins added 15 points. Mantas Rubstavicius paced Lietkabelis with 25 points.
Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul 74-76 Dreamland Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria came from behind in the fourth quarter to edge Besiktas. The win improved Gran Canaria to 6-2 on the season, while Besiktas dropped to 4-4 in Group A. The hosts entered the fourth quarter with a 4-point lead, but Gran Canaria used a 0-12 run to take a 61-69 lead, which it preserved down the stretch. Caleb Homesley led the winners with 17 points and John Shurna had 12 points and 7 rebounds. Jonah Mathews scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half in defeat.
ratiopharm Ulm 72-80 Bahcesehir College Istanbul
Bahcesehir remained in sole possession of first place in Group A as it fought past Ulm on the road for a fifth straight victory. The Turkish team decided the game with bigger plays down the stretch to improve to 7-1 heading into the national team break. Sehmus Hazer paced Bahcesehir with 20 points, 5 assists and 4 steals and Mateusz Ponitka flirted with a triple-double in collecting 12 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Ulm dropped to 4-4 with its first home loss of the season and fourth defeat in the last five games. Alfonso Plummer drained 4 three-pointers in scoring 18 points in defeat.
Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem 86-77 Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse
Jerusalem earned a hard-fought victory over visiting Bourg at Samokov Arena on Wednesday night to improve its record to 6-2 and claim sole possession of second place in Group B. Hapoel trailed 37-41 at halftime, but outscored its opponent 21-8 in the 6 first minutes of the third period to take control of the game and never look back. Bourg, which missed top scorer Xavier Castaneda, dropped to 5-3. Gabi Chachasvili led the winners with a monster double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds for a career-high PIR of 29. Jordan Usher was the game's top-scorer with 22 points for Bourg.
Umana Reyer Venice 75-67 Turk Telekom Ankara
Reyer improved to 3-5 in Group B and stayed in the post-season picture afterbeating Turk Telekom, which dropped to 4-4. It was a game of two different halves as the opening period was played almost at a walking pace and produced a catalog of errors, while the contest came to life in the second thanks to improved offense from both teams. Rodney McGruder paced Reyer with 20 points and 6 boards and Mfiondu Kabengele racked up 10 points and 15 rebounds. Anthony Brown netted 18 points for Turk Telekom.
Joventut Badalona 78-72 Buducnost VOLI Podgorica
Joventut snapped a four-game losing streak by beating Buducnost at home in Round 8 on Wednesday. Both teams now have 3-5 records in Group A. Devon Dotson led the winners with 26 points and Adam Hanga added 13 for Joventut. McKinley Wright and Rasheed Sulaimon paced Buducnost with 12 points apiece.
Tuesday, November 12
Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius 88-83 Dolomiti Energia Trento
Wolves registered their fifth consecutive victory by beating visiting Trento on Tuesday night. The win improved Wolves' record to 5-3 in Group A, while Trento dropped to 3-5, remaining winless in our road games. Andrew Andrews scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half, including making 6 three-point shots. Four of his triples came in a 19-5 run bridging the third and fourth quarters, which turned a 53-59 deficit into a 72-64 lead, and the hosts never trailed again. Eigirdas Zukauskas scored 21 for Trento.
Trefl Sopot 64-93 Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv
Hapoel avoided a slip-up in its fight to keep pace with the top teams of Group A with a comfortable victory at winless Trefl Sopot. The visitors pulled away for the first time in earnest in the second quarter and never let Trefl challenge. That moved Hapoel to 5-3 after having lost two of its last three games. Marcus Foster led the way with 21 points and 8 rebounds while Tomer Ginat scored 14 points. Trefl continues to wait for its first victory at 0-8 despite Jakub Schenk scoring 17 points.
Veolia Towers Hamburg 93-69 Aris Midea Thessaloniki
Hamburg led from start to finish en route to registering its second win of the season, downing Aris. Both teams now hold 2-6 records in Group B. Hamburg had a 10-point lead already in the first quarter and extended it to 47-26 in the second. Aris never got closer than 12 points the rest of the way. Brae Ivey paced Hamburg with 15 points and Keondre Kennedy netted 14 and Kur Kuath had 6 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocks in the winning effort. Vassilis Toliopoulos netted 31 points on 6-for-18 three-point shooting in the loss.
Valencia Basket 109-80 Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana
Valencia used a strong second half to run past Cedevita in the team's first home game since the horrific floods that hit the area two weeks ago. Valencia improved to 7-0 record atop Group B, while Cedevita lost its third straight, dropping to 4-4 on the season. The key in the victory was the third quarter in which Valencia outscored Cedevita 31-10. Valencia had seven scorers in double figures, with Josep Puerto leading the way with 15 and Xabi Lopez-Arostegui adding 14. Devin Robinson netted 16 points for the visitors.