CEZ Basketball Nymburk took a giant step to make it to the Eurocup Last 16 in regular season Group C by downing Rudupis 79-91 in Lithuania on Tuesday. Nymburk improved to 3-0 to stay atop the standings while Rudupis dropped to 1-2. Both teams are set to meet again in the Czech Republic next week, where Nymburk could mathematically seal a Last 16 spot. Petr Benda paced the winners with 22 points on 10-of-14 two-pointers. Tre Simmons added 18, Lamayne Wilson had 13 while Pavel Pumprla and A.J. Abrams each got 12 for Nymburk. Edgaras Zelionis led Rudupis with 18 points. Adas Juskevicius added 15 while Dainius Salenga and Gediminas Orelik each had 11 for the hosts. Benda led a 0-7 run that allowed Nymburk to get a 15-24 margin after 10 minutes. The guests managed to stay aheas from that moment but Zelionis and Salenga managed to get Rudupis within 65-68 early in the fourth quarter. Nymburk made the hosts go scoreless for almost 4 minutes while Simmons and Benda fueled a 0-15 run that broke the game open, 65-83, as Rudupis never recovered.

Eugene Lawrence got Nymburk with a layup but Juskevicius soon gave Rudupis a 3-2 lead. Pumprla fed Benda for a jumper and collected a steal that allowed Simmons to score in the other end. A layup by Mike Lenzly capped a 0-8 run and gave Nymburk a 3-10 margin. Juskevicius answered from downtown and matched Pumprla's layup with a jumper for an 8-12 score. Simmons downed a jumper but an unstoppable Juskevicius nailed a triple to get Rudupis closer, 11-14. Benda had 5 points in a 0-7 run that boosted Nymburk's margin to 11-21. A three-pointer by Simmons allowed Nymburk to stay way ahead, 15-24, after 10 minutes. Justas Sinica and Michal Kremen traded triples early in the second quarter. Sinica insisted from downtown and Zelionis joined the three-point shootout for a 24-27 Rudupis deficit. Nymburk called timeout and Lenzly scored again but Salenga matched it with free throws. Simmons buried another triple but Salenga and Juskevicius brought Rudupis even closer, 30-32. Benda and Pumprla led a 0-6 Nymburk run that gave their team some fresh air, 30-38. Orelink followed a three-pointer with free throws but Simmons and Pumprla gave the guests way ahead, 35-43. Zelionis and Orelik stepped up late in the first half but 5 unanswered points by Wilson kept Nymburk out of trouble, 41-50. A three-point play by Gintaras Kadziulis and a put-back basket by Benda fixed the halftime score at 44-52.

Pumprla split free throws right after the break and matched Povilas Butkevicius' layup with a dunk for a 46-55 Nymburk lead. Butkevicius made foul shots and fed Orelik for a layup that brought Rudupis as close as 50-55. Nymburk kept running its offense through Benda, whose back-to-back baskets gave the guests some fresh air, 50-59. Benda got some help from Wilson in a 0-6 run that boosted Nymburk's lead to 52-65. Zelionis and Simas Buterlevicius stepped up for the hosts and free throws by Salenga soon brought Rudupis back to life, 59-66. A dunk by Zelionis capped a 9-1 run and even when Abrams nailed a jumper, free throws by Orelik kept Rudupis within 63-68 after 30 minutes. Salenga sank a jumper early in the fourth quarter but Nymburk improved its defense right when it mattered. Meanwhile, a jumper by Abrams and a layup-plus-foul by Drew Naymick gave the guests a 65-73 edge. Benda shined with his own three-point play and a triple by Simmons forced Rudupis to call timeout, 65-79, with over 6 minutes to go. Back-to-back baskets by Benda and Simmons capped a 0-15 run that sealed the outcome, 65-83. Zelionis and Salenga struck from downtown but it was already too little, too late for Rudupis. Two late three-pointers by Abrams allowed Nymburk to keep a double-digit lead all the way until the final buzzer.