BURSA (Turkey) - After a thrilling end of game sequence in the final minutes, AEK emerged victorious on the road over Tofas Bursa, 85-82, to sweep the best-of-three Play-In series and clinch their spot in the Round of 16.

Turning point: Tofas doubled up AEK and outscored them 18-9 in the first quarter. AEK quickly rebounded and scored 29 points in the second quarter to cut into the lead and trailed by four points at halftime.

AEK carried their momentum from the end of the first half into the third quarter and pulled ahead for a 61-52 lead thanks to a 23-10 quarter. The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth frenzy, as Tofas went on an 18-6 run to tie the game up at 78.

The two teams traded buckets and then a three-pointer by Janis Strelnieks put AEK up by three. After another made shot and free-throws by each team, Tofas had a chance to tie the game, but a three-pointer was missed by Suleiman Braimoh. Akil Mitchell had a chance to finally put the game out of reach with two free-throws, but missed both, leaving the door open for Tofas, who then turned the ball over on their final possession, ending their hopes of forcing overtime.

Game hero: Akil Mitchell continued his strong play in the BCL and dominated tonight's game with a huge double-double and ended up four assists shy of a triple-double. The 30-year-old recorded 21 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, shot 8-of-12 from the field and had an efficiency rating of 33, tied for the second highest in a BCL game this season.

Mitchell is also only the third player to combine for 20+ points, 10+ rebounds and 5+ assists in a BCL game.

Stats don't lie: Statistically speaking, the game came down to free-throws. AEK converted 16-of-22, while Tofas left some free points at the line in such a close game, shooting 11-of-19.

Bottom line: AEK have swept the series 2-0 and advanced to the Round of 16 Group K where they will play alongside Galatasaray Nef, Unicaja and the winner of the Play-In series between Limoges CSP and MHP RIESEN.

Tofas, meanwhile, have been eliminated from the 2022-23 competition. The Turkish club were led in defeat by Berk Ugurlu who nearly missed a double-double with 12 points and 9 assists. Rob Gray and Tyler Ennis also combined to score 35 points.

They said:

"For us, it's a big win because we continue in the competition of the BCL. This is very important for our team. Big congrats to my team and also, I want to say congratulations to the Tofas team because it's a very good team. For us, we have to stay focused on our goals." - Vassilis Xanthopoulos, AEK

"We showed character. I believe it was decisive, the defense of the quarter. It gave us really big confidence and also on the other end. At the end, it had to do with details, and I think that we made the right plays when it mattered. The only thing we have to do is keep on being hungry, want more, and try to focus on the next obligation." - Ilias Kantzouris, Head Coach AEK

"Very disappointed, myself, my teammates. I feel like last week, we prepared ourselves for these guys and I think we came out in the second quarter and the third quarter with not enough energy for an elimination game. We had our opportunities, but we can't wait until the end of the game to have a game-saving play. We have to play harder, and I take ownership in that being one of the leaders on this team." - Tyler Ennis, Tofas Bursa

"We had a very bad third quarter offensively and defensively. I would say although we had some chances at the end of the game, with a couple of possessions, for the biggest part of the game, we didn't deserve to win this game because we played bad. Congrats to AEK because they played better than us." - Dimitris Priftis, Head Coach Tofas Bursa