CLUJ-NAPOCA (Basketball Champions League) - Muratbey Usak Sportif used a blistering 17-0 run in the final stretch of their Qualification Round 2 second-leg clash with U-BT Cluj-Napoca to breeze to an 85-66 victory on the road and clinch the last remaining berth in in Group C of the Regular Season.

The Turkish team, who were looking to defend a slim two-point advantage from their 92-90 win in the first leg, trailed their Romanian hosts for the best part of the first 24 minutes, albeit they made sure to never fall behind by more than six points.

Evaldas Kairys put Usak ahead 56-52 with a jumper just before the third buzzer and the visitors decided it was time to switch gears and finish off the job with the start of the final stanza. Berkay Candan scored on the fast break with 5:38 remaining to play to cap-off Usak’s magnificent burst and lift them to an unassailable 71-52 lead.

Cluj-Napoca finally ended the drought on the next possession but their six-minute drought had meant it was impossible to get back in the game. The deciding factor was Usak’s defensive effort, as the visitors forced their hosts to commit 19 turnovers and scored 19 points off them, 15 of which came in the open floor. At the same time, Cluj-Napoca scored a mere two points off turnovers.

Mark Lyons led five Usak players in double digits with his 18 points and dished out five assists while Jeremy Hazell finished with 17 points for the winners. Kyndall Dykes had a game-high 19 points and Vlad Moldoveanu collected a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds in losing efforts. Cluj-Napoca will continue their European campaign in the FIBA Europe Cup.