Banvit falls to Oktyabr, but keeps second place

Krasny Oktyabr Volgograd defeated Banvit Bandirma 80-68, but it proved to be a Pyrrhic victory as Banvit maintained its tiebreak advantage over Oktyabr to clinch second place in Group E. Both teams finish the regular season with 6-4 records. Banvit will play the Last 32 in Group H with Herbalife Gran Canaria, Buducnost Voli Podgorica and Dinamo Sassari. Oktyabr placed third and will be part of Group I with Virtus Rome, CAI Zaragoza and the fifth placed team from Turkish Airlines Euroleague Group B. Oktyabr used a 12-2 run that bridged the last two quarter to take a comfortable 65-51 lead, but was unable to get a large enough margin to get the tie-breaker on its side. Randy Culpepper scored 21 points on 5-for-8 shooting from long distance and delivered 5 assists. Romeo Travis tallied 19 points with 6 rebounds, while Anton Ponkrashov added 11 points plus 6 assists. Can Maxim Mutaf led Banvit with 22 points and 9 rebounds and Vladimir Veremeenko pulled down 10 boards.

Travis scored 6 points for the hosts in a balanced start. Vladimir Dragicevic’s layup gave a 12-13 lead to Banvit. A 9-0 run for the home team, with back-to-back three pointers from Culpepper and Ponkrashov, gave them a 21-13 advantage. Safak Edge and Dragicevic fueled the visitors to finish the first quarter down 22-17. A three-point-play completed by Victor Cuthbert gave a 29-20 margin to Oktyabr. Chuck Davis pushed his side to within 29-26 before Marcus Cousin and Travis fueled the hosts to 35-26. A huge dunk by Travis and a free throw nailed by Tolga Gecim made it 39-31 for the home team at halftime.

Culpepper opened the second half scoring from mid range for a double digit cushion, 41-31, but Edge and Can Maxim Mutaf increased their accuracy from three-point range to get within 47-43 with four minutes left in the third quarter. A 7-0 run in the last 7 seconds of the quarter, capped by Travis from long distance, gave a comfortable 60-49 margin to Oktyabr. Rick Jackson’s dunk raised the difference to 65-51. Berkay Canday answered from downtown, but Culpepper also hit a triple and later completed a fast break with a dunk to lead 72-56. A late 2-9 run for the guests put them within double figures at 74-65, but Artem Komissarov, Travis and Culpepper scored layups to complete the job.