CEZ Basketball Nymburk forced a three-way tie and plenty of drama into Group L with a stunning 55-73 road win over Crvena Zvezda Belgrade at Pionir Hall in the Serbian capital on Tuesday. The Czech champs outscored Crvena Zvezda 22-38 in the second half to register their second road win of the Last 16 and third of the season. Nymburk improved to 3-2, dropped Crvena Zvezda to the same record and they join Gran Canaria 2014 in a three-way tie for first place heading into the Last 16 finale. Nymburk will advance to the Quarterfinals if it wins at home next week against Turk Telekom and because of the size of this win, will finish in first place if Crvena Zvezda beats Gran Canaria. Crvena Zvezda meanwhile must win in its head-to-head duel with Granca to advance. Petr Benda paced the winners with 18 points and 7 rebounds, while Ron Lewis and Arthur Lee added 17 each. Lee also dished 6 assists. Mike Lenzly came off the bench to net 12, including a pair of big fourth-quarter baskets to stave off a Crvena Zvezda rally. Filip Videnov led the home team with 10 points and Oliver Stevic posted 8 points and 9 rebounds in defeat.

Nymburk won the opening tip, but it was Crvena Zvezda that scored first when Mike Taylor fed Stevic. Lewis soon got Nymburk’s first basket and then put the visitors ahead with a triple. Baskets by Marko Keselj and Elmedin Kikanovic lifted Crvena Zvezda on top, but the game remained close for the rest of the quarter, which ended 15-15 after a Lee free throw. Lewis remained hot and took Nymburk to 15-20 early in the second quarter. Vladimir Stimac scored twice to bring Crvena Zvezda right back and a Vuk Radivojevic three-point play knotted the game at 22-22. Taylor helped the hosts go up 29-26. Benda answered with 4 points as Nymburk regained the lead. A Benda basket and Lee triple made it a 4-point lead before Radivojevic brought Crvena Zvezda within 33-35 at halftime.

Stevic crashed the offensive glass and knotted the game at 35-35 early in the second half. Benda did the same at the other end as the visitors set to make a run. Lewis scored from the line and from behind the arc as the Nymburk lead swelled to 6 points. Nemanja Bjelica’s layup was not enough to curb the Nymburk momentum as Lee drilled a triple and Benda and Radek Necas both got to the line, extending the lead to 12. Bjelica and Videnov both scored, but the visitors rolled on and went up 43-56 when Ladislav Sokolovsky ended the third quarter with a three-pointer. Crvena Zvezda battled back, even though Nymburk went up by 14 in a Mike Lenzly triple early in the fourth quarter. Videnov heated up and almost single-handedly brought his team within 52-59. However Lenzly stood tall for Nymburk with a clutch three and then a layup to revive his team. Pavel Pumprla’s layup further extended the lead, which reached 15 on a Lee second-chance basket and continued to grow till the final buzzer as the visitors celebrated a crucial road win.