BC Triumph Lyubertsy had a strong start in the 2012-13 Eurocup by downing Le Mans Sarthe Basket 71-76 in Group C in France on Wednesday. Sergey Karasev led the winners with 27 points on 6-of-7 three-point shots and 6 rebounds in his first game in the competition. Yuval Naimy added 17 while Tywain McKee had 16 for Triumph. Khalid El-Amin led Le Mans with 19 points. Cuthbert Victor added 14, JP Batiste had 11 while Cam Long got 10 for the hosts. Karasev took over early to give Triumph a 6-23 margin late in the first quarter. He got some help from Tasamin Mitchell and McKee to make it a 19-point game, 21-40, at halftime. Victor and Batista fueled the hosts' comeback, leading a 15-0 run that brought Le Mans within 69-70 late in the third quarter. McKee stepped up and Naimy buried three consecutive shots from downtown to make Triumph stay out of trouble until the final buzzer.

Pape Sy got Le Mans going with a layup but he didn't find much help around. Meanwhile, a jumper by Mitchell ignited a 0-14 Triumph run in which Karasev struck twice from downtown and Evgeny Valiev added a three-point play. Le Mans went scoreless for more than 5 minutes until Batista hit a jumper. Karasev and Victor traded layups for a 6-16 score. Triumph kept running its offense through Karasev, who hit another triple. Naimy copied him right after that to break the game open, 6-23. Henri Kahudi hit a jumper and Alain Koffi added a layup but McKee and Naimy gave Triumph a 10-27 margun after 10 minutes. Victor and Cam Long stepped up with back-to-back baskets early in the second quarter. Long scored again but McKee kept the guests way ahead, 16-31. Mitchell scored again and Karasev soon buried his fourth shot from downtown for a 19-36 Triumph margin. Koffi kept trying to change things for Le Mans but an unstoppable Karasev and Mitchell allowed Triumph to get a 19-point lead, 21-40, at halftime.

El-Amin tried to ignite the hosts' comeback with a layup immediately after the break. Mitchell scored in transition but a layup by Victor and free throws by Batista brought Le Mans a bit closer, 27-42. Triumph kept running its offense through Karasev, who buried two more shots from beyond the arc for a 29-48 lead. El-Amin answered from downtown and a put-back basket by Victor kept Le Mans within 34-48. Mitchell hit free throws but Koffi, Long and Batista fueled a 15-0 run that a red hot Victor capped with a three-pointer to bring the hosts back in the game, 49-50. McKee and Naimy gave Triumph some fresh air, 49-56, at the end of the third quarter. Karasev split free throws early in the fourth quarter but Batista and El-Amin kept Le Mans within 51-57. Kyle Landry stepped up with a put-back basket and McKee boosted the guests' margin to 52-61. Charles Kahudi and Long kept Le Mans going but three consecutive three-pointers by Naimy sealed the outcome, 57-70, with 3 minutes to go. Le Mans managed to get within 66-70 already in the final minute but McKee and Karasev combined for 6-of-6 free throws in the final 28 seconds to keep Triumph out of trouble until the final buzzer.