Lietuvos Rytas outlasts Jerusalem in battle of former champs

Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius completed its regular season in style by beating Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem 98-88 to finish atop Group E with an 8-2 record. Rytas will play in Last 32 in Group L, while Hapoel Jerusalem completed its season with 2-8 record. A 12-2 run late in the fourth quarter made the difference for Rytas to get a 94-81 margin with two and a half minutes left in the game. Martynas Gecevicius and Antanas Kavaliauskas scored 17 points apiece for the winners, Gediminas Orelik contributed 14, Adas Juskevicius amassed 11 points and 7 assists, while Mike Moser and Mindaugas Lukauskis chipped in 10 points each. Bracey Wright had an outstanding performance by scoring 30 points on 5-of-6 three-point shooting, but not enough to win the game. Lior Eliyahu added 21 points and Tony Gaffney had 10 for Jerusalem in defeat.

Rytas started the game on fire by taking a 13-4 lead after three minutes on a three-pointer drilled by Gecevicius. Hapoel stayed close through Yotam Halperin, before Billy Baron with a mid-range jumper gave to Rytas its first double-digit margin, 28-17. Seven unanswered points scored by the visitors and capped by Donta Smith with a lay-up made it 30-26 after 10 minutes. Gaffney and Smith carried Hapoel within 32-30 early in the second, but Kavaliauskas underneath and Baron from mid-range scored for a 41-32 advantage. Wright’s triple and layup and later back-to-back jumpers from Eliyahu allowed the visitors to get back within 2. Lukauskis’s steal and dunk gave a 48-43 cushion to the home team before Eliyahu split free throws to make it 48-44 at halftime.

The teams exchanged baskets to open the second half. Hapoel used a three-pointer from Halperin and a quick break by Wright to tie it at 54-54. Gecevicius scored twice from three-point range to lead 62-56, while Moser, also from beyond the arc, gave a double-figure advantage, 70-60, to the hosts. Hapoel did not give up and a 9-2 final run completed by Wright with a triple fixed a 72-60 advantage for Rytas at the last break. Edvinas Seskus from long distance raised the difference to 82-74. Eliyahu brought Jerusalem within 82-79 at the midway point of the last quarter, before a 12-2 run highlighted by three-pointers from Juskevicius and Gecevicius gave a 94-81 cushion to the hosts, who kept a comfortable margin till the final buzzer.