Needham carries Mornar Bar past Szolnoki Olaj; Tsmoki-Minsk upset Bakken Bears

SZOLNOK (FIBA Europe Cup) - Mornar Bar took a big step towards securing a place in the next round, coming away with a pivotal road victory against Hungarian powerhouse Szolnoki Olaj on Wednesday.

A terrific fourth-quarter performance by Derek Needham helped the Montenegrin side secure a 92-89 triumph at the Tiszaligeti Sports Hall to move to a 3-1 record in the Group K standings.

Needham stole the spotlight in the decisive stretch of the game, collecting 13 points in the final period and knocking down three consecutive three-pointers to put the visitors up 88-79 with 2:24 remaining.

A late 9-1 run had allowed Szolnok to make it interesting down the stretch after getting within a single point, but free throws by Nemanja Vranjes sealed the game.

Needham finished with a team-high 24 points and 5 rebounds, while Vranjes went 14-of-16 from the stripe and finished the contest with 19 points in just 18 minutes of playing time.

For Szolnoki Olaj, David Vojvoda fired in 27 points, Luksa Andric added 22 and Strahinja Milosevic flirted with a triple-double with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists.

Mornar would have qualified to the Round of 16 had results gone differently in the other game, but the previously winless Tsmoki-Minsk pulled off a 96-75 upset against Group K leaders Bakken Bears to leave the race wide open.

David Kravish had an excellent game for the Belarusian side, posting a 20-point and 10-rebound double-double, while Chris Czerapowicz chipped in with 18 points.

Meanwhile, Donar Groningen regained control of the proceedings in Group L by turning a close game against U-BT Cluj-Napoca into a 92-72 blowout after outscoring the visitors from Romania by 19 points in the fourth quarter.

Paced by 23 points each from Brandyn Curry and Evan Bruinsma, the Dutch champions celebrated a win in their centenary game in European competitions and improved to a 3-1 mark in the standings, while their Romanian counterparts dropped to 2-2.

In the other game of the group in Belgium, Keravnos got back to winning ways by topping Belfius Mons-Hainaut 67-62 on the road. Anthony King had his best game of the season with 19 points and 9 rebounds.

Elsewhere, Egis Kormend handed Demir Insaat a surprise 73-71 defeat behind an 18-point FIBA Europe Cup debut from the team's newcomer Andre Dillard, who collected all of his points in the first half.

The win put both teams on level terms in Group J at 2-2, but the Turkish club managed to hold on to a head-to-head advantage thanks to their 7-point win at home.

Over in Finland, Kataja Basket became the first team to reach the end of the road in the Second Round, losing 80-89 to Nizhny Novgorod and falling to a 0-4 record in Group I.

The Greg Gibson-coached side no longer has a viable path to the next round, leaving Nizhny Novgorod and Istanbul BBSK in a two-horse race for the only remaining ticket to the Play-Offs after ESSM Le Portel booked their spot on Tuesday.

FIBA