PAOK seals second place with OT win in Podgorica

PAOK Thessaloniki finished second in Group F by edging Buducnost VOLI Podgorica 76-81 in the Montenegrin capital on Wednesday. PAOK finished Group F with a 6-4 record and was second due to its tie-break advantage against Pinar Karsyaka Izmir (1-1, +1). Buducnost was fourth with a 3-7 record and qualified to the Last 32 due to its two wins against Stelmet Zielona Gora. Julian Vaughn led the winners with 17 points. Kevin Langford added 13 while Apollon Tsochlas and J.R. Bremer each had 12 for PAOK. Omar Cook led Buducnost with 14 points and 10 assists. Vladimir Dasic added 13 points and 5 steals, Bojan Subotic got 12 points and Suad Sehovic had 10 for the hosts, whhich rallied in the second quarter to get a 30-29 edge at halftime. A three-pointer by Bremer gave PAOK a 48-53 edge after 30 minutes and a dunk by Vaughn kept PAOK way ahead, 66-70, with 44 seconds left. Cook and Dasic stepped up big to make Buducnost take the game to overtime, 73-73. PAOK improved its defense in the extra period while Langford and Bremer took care of business in crunch time.

PAOK found an early go-to guy in Vaughn, who singlehandedly gave the guests a 4-6 lead. Three-pointers by Christos Saloustros and Jake Odum soon boosted PAOK's lead to 6-12. A dunk by Vaughn made it a double-digit game, 6-16. Subotic and J.R. Reynolds fueled a 9-0 run which brought Buducnost as close as 15-16. Vaughn kept pacing PAOK and a three-pointer by Bremer improved the guests' margin to 17-23 after 10 minutes. Tsochlas struck from downtown early in the second quarter and a free throw by Langford kept PAOK ahead, 21-27. Cook stepped up with back-to-back baskets, igniting a 9-2 run which he capped with a jumper to put Buducnost back ahead, 30-29, at halftime. A three-pointer by Odum and free throws by Vaughn restored a 32-34 Buducnost edge right after the break. Reynolds stepped up for Buducnost and a layup by Cedomir Vitkovac provided another lead change, 38-36. Kostas Kararoudis shined with a three-point play and back-to-back baskets by Marc Antonio Carter helped PAOK regain a 42-43 edge. Langford hit free throws, Kararoudis had another layup-plus-foul and a three-pointer by Bremer boosted PAOK's lead to 48-53 after 30 minutes. Cook struck from downtown early in the fourth quarter but Tsochlas and Langford combined for all points in a 0-7 run which gave PAOK fresh air at 51-60. Subotic and Dasic stepped up for Buducnost and a triple by Sehovic made it a one-point game, 61-62, with 4 minutes left. Dasic shined with back-to-back baskets but Odum and Tsochlas kept PAOK ahead, 65-67. A dunk by Vaughn seemed to seal the outcome, 66-70, already in the final minute but Cook and an outstanding Dasic tied it at 73-73, with 9.4 seconds to go. Odum missed a layup in the final seconds. Cook hit a three-pointer early in overtime but Buducnost went scoreless in crunch time. Meanwhile, Langford and Bremer fueled a final 0-8 run which allowed PAOK to clinch second place in Group F.