Nizhny Novgorod tops AEK to advance

Nizhny Novgorod rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to beat AEK Athens 86-79 on Tuesday and secure a berth in the Last 32. Nizhny improved to 5-3 and moved to within one win of Group F leader Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul. The loss dropped AEK to 4-4. AEK did hold on to any potential tiebreaker between the teams, because it won their previous meeting by 17 points in Round 3 in the Greek capital. Victor Rudd paced the winners with 15 points, Kaspars Berzins posted 10 points and 11 rebounds and Dimitriy Khvostov dished 8 assists for a Nizhny attack that featured six scorers in double figures. Dimitrios Mavroeidis carried AEK with 21 points on 8 of 11 shooting plus 9 rebounds and Malik Hairston added 13 in defeat. AEK bridged 10 straight points between the first and second quarter to take the lead and went into halftime ahead 44-52. After AEK scored the first two baskets of the second half, Nizhny rallied to tie it by the end of the third quarter and Ivan Strebkov hit some big shots in the fourth as he and Rudd led the hosts to the victory and the Last 32.

Nizhny started on the right foot with 3 Berzins free throws from the first two possessions and a Rudd shot for a 5-3 lead. Milan Milosevic got AEK on the scoreboard with a three-pointer. Hairston and Milosevic both connected from downtown as the visitors came back to tie it at 13-13. Mavroeidis scored twice more in a 2-12 run for a 6-point AEK lead. Rudd set up Andrei Kirdiachkin for triple and then buried one of his own to bring the hosts within 19-21, but the duo of Mavroeidis and Dimitrios Katsivelis boosted the visitors to a 19-25 lead after 10 minutes. Mavroeidis’s put-back and assist to Marc Carter capped a 0-10 run that bridged the quarters. Rasid Mahalbasic got on the scoreboard for Nizhny and Strebkov and Rudd each connected from downtown to make it 29-36 midway through the second quarter. Strebkov’s next basket made it a 6-point game. Dusan Sakota heated up for AEK and twice extended the lead to double figures. Berzins beat the halftime buzzer to bring Nizhny within 44-52 at the break.

Hairston and Mavroeidis extended AEK’s advantage to 12 at the start of the second half. Nizhny battled back as Vladimir Ivlev nailed a three and Khvostov scored twice in an 11-1 charge that made it 55-57. Back-to-back triples by Berzins and Semen Antonov gave the hosts a 4-point lead, but Hairston scored twice to even things at 63-63 through three quarters. The teams traded buckets early in the fourth quarter before a Strebkov triple made it 72-67. Mavroeidis led AEK back to tie it at 74-74 with four minutes remaining. However Strebkov nailed another three and Berzins scored for a 5-point Nizhny lead. A pair of baskets by Rudd made it 83-76 and Nizhny held on for the valuable win.