VEF Riga picked up a vital 78-61 victory over BCM Gravelines on Tuesday to renew its chances in Last 16 Group I. Antanas Kavaliauskas scored 23 points and grabbed 8 rebounds to lead Riga to its first win in the Last 16. The result also dropped Gravelines to 0-3. Riga used a 15-2 first-quarter surge to take control early and never let Gravelines closer than 5 the rest of the way. Gravelines didn’t quit and managed to close the gap to 8 a number of times in the fourth quarter, but Riga found the answers at both ends when needed to hold on and preserve the valuable win. Dairius Bertans added 13 points, while Sandis Valters tallied 9 points and 6 assists for the winners. Cyril Akpomedah and Ludo Vaty each scored 14 for Gravelines in defeat.

Kavaliauskas got the hosts going with a basket on Riga’s first possession, but an Akpomedah triple gave Gravelines its first lead, 4-5. However when Bertans hit a three-pointer three-and-a-half minutes into the contest, all five Riga starters had scored and the home team led 11-5. Akpomedah scored again, but Riga kept pushing as Kavaliauskas and Kaspars Berzins teamed up on an 8-0 run for a 19-7 lead. Juby Johnson, J.R. Reynolds and Pape Sy all connected from downtown, but Riga continued to generate offense and led 27-18 after 10 minutes. A Valters triple extended the lead out to 32-18 early in the second quarter. And his second triple kept the hosts in control at 37-24 midway through the same quarter. Gravelines’s move came in the final two minutes of the half. After Curtis Millage’s steal and layup put Riga ahead 43-32. Andrew Albicy got involved with a dish to Vaty for a dunk and free throw. Then Albicy nailed a triple of his own to make it a 5-point game. But Tyler Cain’s tip-in left Riga up 45-38 at the break.

Akpomedah narrowed the gap to 5 with the first bucket of the second half, but just as quickly Bertans connected from downtown and then dished to Kavaliauskas inside as the hosts re-extended their lead to 12. Vaty and Akpomedah fueled the Gravelines attack and Rudy Jomby added a three-pointer, however at the other end, Riga continued to score. Free throws by Cain and Bertans made it a 13-point game before J.K. Edwards ended the third quarter at 61-50. Sy tripled and Edwards scored from the line to give Gravelines hope at 63-55. But Bertans and Kavaliauskas pushed Riga ahead by double digits again. Reynolds and Johnson both scored from the line to get within 69-61 with four minutes to go. But despite locking Riga up on the other side, Gravelines missed its next three shots. Then a Valters three and a Kavaliauskas basket inside with just over a minute to go put the hosts up 13 and signaled an important victory.