NICOSIA (FIBA Europe Cup) - After playing catch up the entire night, Keravnos caught Group L pacesetters Donar Groningen off guard in the final minute of the game to escape with a 74-72 victory on Tuesday.

The Cypriot champions improved to a 3-2 mark in the standings, denying their Dutch counterparts, who now share an identical record, a chance to secure a Round of 16 berth already this week.  

Turning Point: Despite being in the driver's seat from tip-off, a poor offensive fourth-quarter display by Donar Groningen allowed Keravnos back into the game down the stretch. A go-ahead three-pointer by Dalton Pepper gave Keravnos their first lead of the game at 73-70 with 58 seconds left.

Game Hero: Having made just 1-of-10 field goals leading up to the decisive long-range basket, Pepper left all those misses in the rear view mirror by making the one that mattered the most in the final minute of the game. He finished the game with 7 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block.

Stats Don't Lie: The Mohamed Abukar-led starting unit carried the majority of the load for the victors, scoring 60 of the 74 points. In comparison, Donar received a 30-point contribution from the bench, but it wasn't enough to swing the scales their way.

Bottom Line: Despite picking up a loss, Donar Groningen are still at the top of the standings and could still qualify to the Round of 16 this week if U-BT Cluj-Napoca defeat Belfius Mons-Hainaut on Wednesday in the second game of the week in Group L.  

They Said: "It is a very big win for us. Groningen, for this level in the FIBA Europe Cup, is an amazing team, I also said this at the first game when we played them. The loss by 40 points in the first game is not the actual difference of the teams, but they are one extremely organized team, that plays modern basketball with a lot of movement." - Keravnos head coach Christoforos Livadiotis.

"Congratulations to Keravnos. They showed great effort tonight. They played like a team, were better than the last time we met and we got to give them credit." - Donar Groningen guard Sean Cunnigham.

FIBA