 Thriller night in Lithuania on Tuesday as the game between BC Siauliai and visiting KK Zadar was only decided in the last minutes. When the dust settled, Zadar came up with the upper hand and pulled a 91-95
road win. The game never really had any dominant team and thanks to Rok Stipcevic, Zadar knew how to keep the lead for good in clutch time. The win lifts Zadar to a 1-1 record for the first win while
Silauliai stays winless in Group C with a 0-2 record. Stipcevic led all scorers with 27 points including 5 of 8 threes, Micah Downs added 18 and Damir Rancic had 17 for the winners. Four players scored in
double digits for Siauliai as Derrick Low led them with 19 points. Arvydas Siksnius posted 17, Deividas Gailius added 14 and Mindaugas Kuzminskas contributed 12 for the losers.
Arvydas Siksnius opened the score for Siauliai with two free throws, but Rok Stipcevic's three allowed Zadar to take their first lead of the night, 4-5. Stipcevic's blasted two more straight threes to keep
Zadar in the driver's seat during the following plays, and Damir Rancic added another three for a 8-14 Zadar lead. Siksnius scored from the line to keep Siauliai alive but Zadar was moving the ball better in
offense and went up, 10-18. Eight of Siauliai's first 14 points arrived from the free throw line, but Mindaugas Zukauskas buried a two-pointer for a 21-25 first quarter score. Derrick Low's basket put
Siauliai back in command when the second quarter started, 20-19, but Vladimer Boisa had six points of his own to keep Zadar in time. Mindaugas Kuzminskas hit a three to make it a one-point game again, but
Stipcevic stopped the trend with his layup. Zadar managed to keep the small lead in the final steps of the first half until Micah Downs stepped up with eight straight points for an 11-point Zadar lead,
32-43. Siksnius appeared again for Siauliai but Downs nailed two more free throws and a basket to stay in charge making it a personal 12-point run, 43-52 to close the first half.
 Kuzminskas opened the second half in style for Siauliai with a three, but three straight triples between Rancic and Stipcevic boosted Zadar to new heights, 47-61 in just a couple of minutes. Low hit another
for Siauliai but Rancic and Stipcevic were a lethal dup tonight for Zadar, scoring from everywhere to maintain a 53-67 edge for the guests. On the other side, Kuzminskas and Low nailed new threes to put an
end to the third quarter 61-72. Siksnius was still the go-to guy of Siauliai but now, Hrvoje Peic stepped up for Zadar keeping his team at a safe distance, 67-79 after two free throws and then 69-81 after
his layup neutralizing Raitis Grafs' bucket. Zadar's edge on the three-point shooting was granting a sufficient lead for now, but a 5-0 Siauliai run capped by Gediminas Orelik's layup made it a 5-point game
with two minutes to go, 82-87. Siksnius made it even closer with two more points, but Stipcevic came to the rescue with free throws and another basket as the clock advanced to enter the last minute with a
84-91. Siauliai called timeout and the nest moments were a carrousel of free throws, but Zadar played smarter in the last plays and managed to pull a valuable road win.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
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