Dexia Lower Boom On Ural Great To Finish Top of B

Dexia Mons-Hainaut hammered Ural Great 81-60 and beat them to first place in Group B in the process on Tuesday.

Great Britain national team point guard Michael Lenzly had 15 points to lead a balanced attack for the Belgian side.

Both outfits finished with 4-2 records, and Dexia claimed first place by winning their head-to-head tie-breaker with Ural Great with a +19 goal differential.

The pressure was off both teams as they entered the last round with Quarter Final Round places assured following last week's play.

Dexia, clearly, wanted to finish in first place and it was obvious early in the second quarter they were going to do just that when consecutive Roger Huggins jumper shots put them into a 30-13 lead.

The team from Perm did immediately shave seven points off that deficit to make it 30-22, but Dexia got the wind in their sails again and when Lenzly buried a three-pointer, they went too half-time on top, 42-26.

Ural Great had a strong start to the second half with a 10-0 run, capped by a Ralph Biggs lay-up.

But in a game of runs, it was Dexia's turn to go on another surge and James Potter's three-ball capped an 8-0 run for a 50-36 advantage.

In the fourth quarter, the advantage ballooned to 25 for Dexia and they cruised to victory.

Quotes Dexia Mons-Hainaut vs. Ural Great Perm

Drazen Anzulovic, coach Ural Great Perm:

"First, I would like to congratulate the Dexia coach and his team. They played a very good game from the beginning until the end and my players were not attending to what I said just before the game. To be sure, we were better in the fight for rebounds, but it wasn't sufficient to win. Defensively, we let our hosts run, and gave them many free shots and in such a game, we paid dearly for it. Now, we finish in second place, and we'll meet Tartu from Estonia, but I don't know anything about our opponents. Maybe we'll meet Mons Hainaut in the Final Four, who knows?"

Vanja Plisnic, player Ural Great Perm:

"It was a very bad game as far as we're concerned, with a lot of turnovers during a big part of the game. Maybe we have lost our concentration after last Friday's important game in the Russian league, because we were unable to find solutions inside and outside. Mons created the opportunities to make the difference in the first half, and the Belgian team was strong enough to manage its advantage after we closed the difference to six points in less than three minutes inside the second half. It's a lesson for us, and we must be concentrated for the next round."

Chris Finch, coach Dexia Mons-Hainaut:

"We were under pressure to do something at home especially after we had lost our away game against Perm in the last few seconds, and my players fully met our fan's expectations. We played well for the duration of the game, with a very strong defense and, thanks to the win, we made sure of playing an eventual third leg of the next round at home. I'm not afraid of Samara, because I think that what we did against Perm, we're able to repeat against any other Russian team. Now, we have a few weeks to concentrate on the domestic front, and after that we'll see..."

Jim Potter, player Dexia Mons-Hainaut:

"I know that Perm were playing without their point guard, but for us it was an important game that we had to win by three points or more [to finish top of the group]. We were very concentrated and played very well in defense, especially in the first half, which allowed us to take a sixteen-point lead. The team made good choices inside and also from outside. For the second time in three years we have reached the quarter finals of a European Cup competition and it's a good thing for the club and our fans."