Krasny Oktyabr rallies for historic win in Jerusalem

Krasny Oktyabr Volgograd rallied to make history, recording its first ever Eurocup win by edging Hapoel Jerusalem 78-79 on the road in the Israeli capital on Wednesday. Oktyabr improved to 1-1 for a share of third place in Group E, while Jerusalem dropped to 0-2. The visitors held the lead for the majority of the first half, but Jerusalem went on a 17-2 run in the third quarter and pulled away for a 63-51 advantage. However, the visitors refused to go away, and behind Bernard King and Romeo Travis put together a 1-16 spurt that bridged the third and fourth quarters. Oktyabr took a 74-78 lead into the final minute, and held on in the thrilling final seconds. D.J. Kennedy led the way with 17 points, while King netted 16 and dished 10 assists. Cuthbert Victor scored 14 and Marcus Cousin 12 in the historic victory. Bracey Wright scored 19 for the hosts, Joseph Jones had 16 points, Derwin Kitchen collected 13 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, while Donta Smith had 10 points, 11 boards, 5 assists and 4 steals in a losing effort.

The teams traded baskets early on, with Wright hitting a triple for the hosts and Jones scoring twice for an 11-9 lead. But Kennedy answered, stringing together 9 points, including a dunk and a triple to make it 13-18. Jones and Wright combined for 6 more points for Jerusalem, but Cousin had a put-back, and Kennedy a three-pointer, 19-25. Baskets were quite less frequent at the start of the second quarter, with DeAndre Kane scoring a lone field goal in more than four minutes. Smith and Kitchen got the hosts' offense going, but back-to-back triples from King got Oktyabr to 26-35. Bar Timor hit from downtown for Jerusalem, but back-to-back threes from Victor and Deandre Liggins made it 32-43. However, Smith countered with a put-back dunk and assisted Kitchen's triple, helping Jerusalem cut to 39-45 at halftime.

After the break, Victor hit another triple for Oktyabr, but the hosts replied with a 17-2 run. Smith and Jones got things going off of steals, and Wright nailed a three-pointer to tied it at 50-50. Jones, Lior Eliyahu and Tony Gaffney continued the run of 11 unanswered points, helping make it 58-50. Another three from Wright, followed by a basket from Kitchen extended it to 63-51. Romeo Travis answered with a three-pointer for the visitors, and Artem Komissarov scored just before the buzzer to end the third quarter at 67-58. At the start of the fourth, a basket by King and 3 of 4 from the foul line by Cousin got Oktyabr within 68-63. King continued the run with a three-pointer, and Travis scored a basket to put the visitors back in front, 68-70. Victor extended the margin to 4 points, before Kitchen snapped a 0-12 run with a pair of foul shots and Jones tied it. However, King made a bucket at the other end, then assisted Cousin to go up 72-76 with minute and a half to go. Travis and Gaffney traded put-backs with under 60 seconds remaining, and Gaffney’s free throws made it 78-79. King missed a triple for the visitors, giving Jerusalem 8 seconds to win it, but Gaffney missed a shot at the buzzer, as Oktyabr celebrated its first ever Eurocup win.