CEZ Nymburk ride strong start to win at Zielona Gora

ZIELONA GORA (Basketball Champions League) - CEZ Nymburk started strong and then hung on for an 88-82 triumph at Stelmet Zielona Gora on Wednesday night to clinch their fourth win of the season.

The Czech side opened up a 17-point lead in the first half, only to have the Lukasz Koszarek-led hosts fight back and push them until the very end.

Koszarek, the Poland point guard and Stelmet Zielona Gora captain, hit 4 of 6 shots from behind the arc and finished with 16 points and 7 assists. Vladimir Dragicevic poured in a team-high 17 points but fouled out late in the fourth quarter.

CEZ Nymburk's Vojtech Hruban scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half

Petr Benda, solid in both halves, ended up hitting 10 of 12 shots from the floor, the majority of his makes jump shots, en route to a game-high 22 points for the visitors.

CEZ Nymburk's next two games before the holiday break are on the road at Nanterre 92 in France on December 13 and then at Aris in Greece six days later.

Stelmet Zielona Gora will be looking for a change in fortunes when they return to the Basketball Champions League hardwood next week with a home game against Aris. Their last game before the break will be on December 19 at Telekom Baskets Bonn.