Darussafaka Dogus bowed out of the Euroleague Top 16 with a narrow 87-86 Group E win over already qualified Lokomotiv Kuban in Istanbul.
A three-pointer from Chris Singleton shrunk the hosts’ lead to a single point with mere seconds remaining but Darussafaka got the ball and threw it up-court to end the game.
For the excitement that the final minute brought, the result either way was academic as the group standings had been finalised before the game even began.
“This is a big win for us in a disappointing round of Euroleague,” said Darussafaka Dogus’ Luke Harangody, who led the way with 15 points.
“We’re upset with the way we finished in the group, but it’s nice to go out with a win. Lately we’ve been playing a lot better with a lot more energy on both sides.”
Singleton and Victor Claver each had 12 points in a losing effort for Lokomotiv.
Another team from Group E that went out on a positive note with Cedevita Zagreb as they beat Crvena Zvezda 83-62 in the Croatian capital.
After beating Fenerbahce by 30 points, two weeks ago, it was Cedevita’s second consecutive home win by more than 20 points over a Playoff-bound team. But the outcome had no effect on the overall standings.
Jacob Pullen had a game-high 22 points to lead Cedevita.
And the third side from Group E already eliminated from the Top 16 Unicaja Malaga grabbed a 71-67 victory over group winners Fenerbahce.
A closely-fought 23-20 Unicaja lead after the first period was turned on its head in the second as the Liga Endesa side held Fenerbahce to just eight points, giving them a 39-28 cushion and they never looked back.
Jack Cooley paced Unicaja with 17 points.
Late free throws from Nando De Colo sealed a 99-96 win for CSKA Moscow over Olympiacos in the lone Group F game.
De Colo led the winners with 20 points with 12 of them in the final three minutes as CSKA end with a 10-4 record in the pool. Olympiacos were already eliminated.
