EUROCHALLENGE

Ramiz Suljanovic's 22 points and 8 rebounds were not enough for the Xion Dukes

Pizza Express Apollon travelled to Austria and claimed a 78-70 triumph over Xion Dukes on Tuesday night in the opening game of the EuroChallenge Qualifying Round tie.

Brandon Brown finished with a game-high 24 points for Apollon, who are based in Limassol, Cyprus.

In a tight contest, the visitors went in front to stay with a 9-0 run that started late in the third quarter.

The game was knotted at 54-54 when Daryl Dorsey delivered an alley-oop pass to Brandon Brown and the 2.01m power forward laid the ball in.

Brown then drove in for a lay-up after catching another pass from Dorsey on Apollon's next trip down the floor.

Dorsey split two free-throws for a 59-54 lead and the third quarter came to an end.

Robert Krabbendam began the last quarter by scoring with a put-back and Brown capped the spurt with two free-throws.

The Dukes closed the gap to 70-67 but Apollon replied with six straight points, four of them scored by Marvin Jefferson.

They ended up claiming an eight-point triumph.

Xion Dukes didn't help their own cause, making just 14 of 25 free-throws on the night.

Ramiz Suljanovic had 22 points for the Dukes.