Siena wins, but late rally leads Nymburk into eighthfinals

Montepaschi Siena downed CEZ Basketball Nymburk 86-84, but it was the Czech champion that moved on to the eighthfinals. Needing to lose by 8 points or less, Nymburk used a 2-10 run late in the fourth quarter to erase a double-digit deficit and come away with a loss that was as good as a victory. Nymburk, Siena and Maccabi Haifa Bazan all ended their Last 32 campaign with 2-4 records in Group K, but Nymburk finished in second place because of the best point difference among the teams in the three-way tie. Siena had the margin needed in its hands. Behind Erick Green the hosts built a 69-57 lead after three quarters, and held on 84-74 with less than three minutes to go. But Nymburk did not allow a field goal in the remaining time, while Radoslav Rancik and Dylan Page scored key baskets for the visitors to go through to the eighthfinals. Green paced Siena with 24 points, Spencer Nelson scored 15, and Benjamin Ortner 12 for the hosts. Rancik led Nymburk with 20 points and 6 rebounds. Rasid Mahalbasic added 18, while Page, Tre Simmons and Vlado Ilievski had 10 apiece.

Triples from Joshua Carter and Jeff Viggiano, and a pair of offensive rebounds from Othello Huner opened a 14-6 lead early on. Nymburk recovered quickly with team effort, as eight players each scored one basket. A triple from Tomas Ress helped Siena to 21-17 after the first quarter, but back-to-back three-pointers from Simmons and Rancik at the start of the second put the visitors up 21-23. Another three from Rancik, and one from Thomas Massamba made it 27-31, but fastbreak baskets from Green and Marquez Haynes sparked a 14-0 run, capped with Green’s triple for 41-31. Before the quarter’s end, Mahalbasic scored a pair of baskets-plus-free throws, and Nymburk cut it to 47-40 at halftime.



Ilievski, Mahalbasic and Page nailed three triples on the opening four possessions of the third quarter, and Simmons added a layup to tie the score at 51-51. But Carter nailed a triple, Green scored 6 points, and with help from Ortner and David Cournooh, Siena finished the third quarter with a 69-57 lead. Rancik scored a layup and a triple for Nymburk, but the hosts maintained a double-digit advantage with baskets from Ortner and Matt Janning. A put-back from Nelson made it 77-66, before threes from Jiri Welsch and Simmons cut it to 79-72. Ress had a basket-plus foul, putting Siena up over the magic margin of 9 with less than three minutes remaining, 84-74. However, Rancik and Page scored layups, and with Ilievski making free throws, Nymburk cut it to 84-80 entering the final minute, and preserved the result that sent it into the eighthfinals.