Prokom Trefl outlasted Dynamo Moscow 60-49

Prokom Trefl outlasted Dynamo Moscow 60-49 for a crucial Group A win on Thursday night in Sopot, Poland. Prokom, which led 26-24 at the end of a low-scoring first half, improved to 2-2, the same record Dynamo has after the loss. The teams are now tied with Le Mans and Efes Pilsen for third place in the group. Jasmin Hukic led Prokom with 11 points, while Huseyin Besok, who came up big in the second half, finished with 10. Dynamo's Bojan Popovic led all scorers with 14. Prokom dominated inside and won the battle of the boards 43-32, but shot only 13-of-23 (56.5%) from the line. On the other end, Dynamo, which was without injured center Lazaros Papadopoulos, had trouble on the perimeter, making just 2-of-16 (12.5%) three pointers.

Both teams struggled on offense at the start of the game, before Hukic finally opened the scoring for Prokom. Popovic pushed Dynamo ahead for the first time with a layup and a free throw on the next possession. Christian Dalmau responded with a triple, but the next few minutes belonged to the visitors. Popovic was the main factor in a 0-7 run, which gave Dynamo the biggest lead in the first half 5-10. However Dynamo lost the ball twice on the break and Prokom found success on the perimeter, as Donatas Slanina and Hukic scored 5 in a row for a 13-12 lead. Andrei Trushkin answered with a basket inside before Adam Wojcik closed the period with a free throw to tie the score at 14-14.

Filip Dylewicz opened the second period with easy points on the break, but Popovic was still on fire on the other side. Yuri Vasilyev threw down a monster dunk, but Wojcik responded with a hook for a 19-18 advantage. Rashid Atkins and Sergey Monia traded bombs from a downtown, but those were the last baskets for a few minutes as both teams played tough defense. Prokom tried to force the game inside and used its advantage on the boards. The hosts drew some fouls and went to the line, but missed its free throws. Dynamo woke up with Eddie Gill finding Trushkin for easy points inside. Dimitri Domani increased the lead to 22-24 from the line before Prokom finally found a way to the basket. On the last possession of the half, Jeff Nordgaard stole the ball and raced in for a layup to give the hosts a 26-24 at the break.

The second half started with Huseyin Besok dominating inside and Atkins running the show. Prokom rode those two to a 13-2 run, which gave them a 39-26 lead. Hukic made another triple during the run, while Hamilton scored all of his 7 points in the period. The Polish champions played much faster and built the advantage on easy points. Moscow still didn't have an answer for Prokom's tough defense and could only score from the line. Popovic made four consecutive free throws, but it wasn't enough as Prokom held on to a 44-30 lead following Tomas Masiulis's free throws. Trushkin took an offensive rebound and made a dunk to end the period with Prokom leading 44-34.

Travis Hansen got things going for Dynamo with a three-point play and Gill added a bomb from a downtown to get within 4, but Besok answered inside again. Prokom had a scare when Hamilton picked up his fifth foul midway through the period, but remained in control. The visitors tried to close the gap with outside shots, but to no avail. Popovic finally made a three-point play and cut the gap to 49-45, but Besok quickly did the same on the other side. Then Dalmau's seven-meter triple gave Prokom another double-digit advantage with 90 seconds remaining and it was clear that home fans could celebrate for the second time this season. Slanina made a three-pointer to end the game with Prokom on top 60-49.