Rytas holds on at home vs. winless Turin

Rytas Vilnius stood down a comeback attempt by Fiat Turin to win 86-79 at home in the Lithuanian capital on Wednesday, ending a two-game losing streak in Group D. Rytas evened its record at 2-2 while Turin, again without head coach Larry Brown on the bench, remains winless. Dominique Sutton's double-double of 20 points, 11 rebounds sparked the winners, while five of his teammates -- Deividas Sirvydis, Manny Harris, D.J. Seeley, Martynas Echodas and Evaldas Kairys -- scored 10 each. Tony Carr, with 20 points, led Fiat's comeback from 17 down in the third quarter to within 80-77 late. Tyshawn Taylor added 19 and James McAdoo 12. Kairys started strong and Sutton added a triple as Rytas shot in front 9-4 on the way to a double-digit lead. It was all Fiat could do to keep it to 22-12 after one quarter but soon after, McAdoo, Carlos Delfino and Jamiel Wilson cut the difference to 32-27. Sirvydis answered quickly, however, and the hosts held onto a 44-34 edge at the half. Sutton and Kairys were joined in dominating under the rims by Echodas to boost the lead to 58-41. Carr and Victor Rudd lowered the difference in a 0-12 run late in the third. Early in the fourth, Carr's three-point play made it 62-58. Giuseppe Poeta hit a tough layup to keep Fiat within 70-65 with 5 minutes left. Sutton, inside and out, restored a double-digit lead, 77-67, but only momentarily. Taylor scored 5 points to cut the difference again to 80-77 entering the final minute. Sutton's free throws, a big block by Kairys and D.J. Seeley's layup ended the threat to the delight of the home crowd.

Rebounders ruled

In building its 17-point lead, 58-41, Rytas had a 34-18 rebounding edge midway through the third quarter and went on to expand it to 44-23 at the finish. That included 15 offensive rebounds, including 6 by Sutton, matching the second-most in the EuroCup this season.

Key contribution

Although Sutton was the go-to guy for Rytas all night, teenage shooter Deividas Sirvydis had his moments, none bigger than at 77-72 entering the next-to-last minute, when Chris Kramer flicked him the ball on the wing. Though pretty well covered, Sirvydis drilled a sweet triple to lengthen the lead again and give himself a second double-digit scoring night in his three appearances.

Lucky charm

Rytas floor general Chris Kramer returned from a two-game absence, both losses, to start for the first time and play almost 29 minutes, second on the team behind Sutton. He had a team-high 4 assists and scored 7 points. Kramer is now 2-0, personally, this season.

Silver lining

Tony Carr got his first start for Turin and responded with 20 points for the visitors. He added 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, showing off an all-around game that can only help Turin going forward, as he gets more experience.

Next games

Rytas can put distance between another direct rival for the top four places when it visits Mornar Bar in Round 5. Fiat has to try to turn things around at home in Round 5 against 2017 EuroCup champion Unicaja Malaga.