Barons improved to 4-1 and took over sole possession of first place in Group D of the EuroCup with a 71-65 win over nearest challengers Khimik.

Demetrius Alexander scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds for Barons, who take on Cholet Basket next week while Khimik (3-2) will have to battle to stay alive in the competition when they take on third place Lokomotiv Rostov (2-3).

Riga outfit Barons, who were playing away from home in Yuzhny, looked to have established control from the off against the team that beat them by six points in their previous encounter but Khimik came back with a 12-0 run to start the fourth quarter that gave them a 60-51 lead with just under eight minutes remaining.

Aleksandar Djuric scored the last seven points in that surge with a jump shot, a tap-in and a three-pointer.

But Khimik weren't able to press home the advantage.

Instead, Barons, who had twice opened up leads of 12 in the third quarter, mounted a fightback.

Alexander hit a pair of free throws that came at the front of a 17-0 run which lasted seven minutes as Barons took control at 68-60.

Khimik managed to close the gap to three points but Barons won the day.

Giedrus Gustas finished with 14 points for Barons, who shot 10 of 20 from three-point range.