Heartbreak for Lions in Europe

FIBA Europe Cup
Avtodor Saratov 84-81 London Lions (32-25, 45-43,62-60)
(Saratov – Scrubb 16, Johnson 13, Funderburk 10; Lions – Kelley 22, Teague 21, Williams 15)

It was heartbreak for London Lions as Avtodor Saratov scored in the dying seconds to beat the BBL side 84-81 in the second stage of the FIBA Europe Cup.

It was Saratov that got off to the better start. The home side got out of the blocks quickly and opened up a seven-point, 32-25 lead after the opening quarter.

Lions, however, hit back in the second. The side from the capital outscored their opponents 18-12 in a low scoring period to reduce the deficit to one point at the halftime break.

The second half was a similar story to the first with the sides going point for point in the third quarter. Saratov won the period 18-17 to lead 62-60 and set up a nail-biting finale.

Late into the fourth Lions led by two before being pegged back to 71-71 with 10 seconds to play. The tie looked destined to go to overtime before a long three-pointer from Saratov’s Phil Scrubb wrapped up the game for the home side.

Scrubb led the scoring charts for Saratov with 16 points. Kylor Kelley finished with a game-high 22 points and 13 rebounds in a superb double-double performance for Lions.

The result leaves Lions bottom of Group L with four games still to play.