Iraklis Beat Wurzburg 90-73 to Go 2-0 in FIBA Europe Cup

By Taki Panos

For 20 minutes it was a grind. Then Iraklis flipped a switch. Zoran Lukic's side beat Fitness First Wurzburg Baskets 90-73 at the Ivanofio in Thessaloniki in Round 2 of the FIBA Europe Cup, as Gazzetta reported, moving to 2-0 in Group E. Quarters ran 22-20, 39-37, 66-49, 90-73, per the FIBA box. The third period, a 27-12 runaway, decided everything. That is how you turn a tight European home night into a statement win that travels well on the standings page.

For readers who mainly follow Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, Iraklis are the historic Thessaloniki club, the "Gireos," grinding in the FIBA Europe Cup rather than the EuroLeague. This autumn that third European tier has been busy for Greek basketball. Mykonos went 2-0 on the road in Switzerland, and Kolossos Rhodes took a first European away win in Azerbaijan. Iraklis are adding their own chapter from Ivanofio, and Group E already looks friendlier after two wins from two with the home crowd still in full voice.

The first half was all defense and short possessions. Styles gave Iraklis early answers up front, and the hosts edged the opening quarter 22-20, SDNA noted. Wurzburg stayed glued to the scoreboard through Charles Thompson and second-chance points off the offensive glass. Halftime landed at 39-37 for Iraklis, according to Ta Nea. Nobody had seized the game. One soft stretch after the break and the Germans would have been right there with the gym suddenly nervous.

That soft stretch never came. Iraklis came out of the locker room locked in. Melvin and Diarra helped push the lead to double digits early in the third, per SDNA, and Lukic's group kept pouring it on. The period closed 66-49, a 27-12 run that Gazzetta and Makedonika Nea both framed as the night's turning point. Assist edge told the same story: Iraklis finished with 24 dimes to Wurzburg's 13, per Gazzetta's box. Defense first, then easy offense. Classic European basketball when it works.

Wurzburg tried to climb back in the fourth and cut the gap to 15 at 80-65, Ta Nea reported. Jalen Lecque helped stretch it again to 74-56 around the 34-minute mark, and Noah Horchler answered later to make it 82-67 with three minutes left, as Gazzetta wrote. From there the finish was managerial. Fourth quarter evened at 24-24, but the damage was already done in that third-period burst. When you win the middle 10 by 15, the last 10 can be about keeping your shape and your fouls in check.

Dontrez Styles led Iraklis with 16 points and 9 rebounds in nearly 36 minutes, earning Gazzetta's man-of-the-match nod with a 22 efficiency rating, per Gazzetta and FIBA. Noah Horchler added 16 points and 6 rebounds off the bench in just 17 minutes. Cleveland Melvin also scored 16. Hassan Diarra finished with 8 points, 10 assists and 5 steals, according to the Gazzetta box score, the night's playmaking engine even when the scoring column stayed quiet for long stretches.

Depth showed up elsewhere too. Cole Syllas went a perfect 3 of 3 from the field for 10 points. Lecque added 10 points and 6 assists. Wurzburg got 16 points and 7 rebounds from Thompson and 13 from Brandon Tischler, Gazzetta recorded, but the visitors shot 37.5 percent overall and just 5 of 22 from three. Iraklis hit 57 percent from the field and owned the glass 42-35. Fair math on a night when the hosts decided to defend and share the ball.

Greek coverage was unusually aligned on the takeaway. Ta Nea called the second half a one-sided show once Iraklis tightened up. Makedonika Nea stressed that the third-period explosion left Wurzburg with no real path back. SDNA pointed to the same 27-12 quarter as the foundation of a second straight European win. When three local desks tell the same story without reaching for drama, you can trust the picture: this was won after halftime, not before it, and the box score backs them up.

Zoom out and Greek clubs are stacking early FIBA results. Iraklis sit 2-0 in Group E after handling a German side that stayed competitive for a half. Mykonos and Kolossos are also off to strong Europe Cup starts. That depth matters for a league that spends most of the spotlight on the two EuroLeague giants. Thessaloniki already has Aris rolling in the EuroCup. Seeing Iraklis control a visitor at Ivanofio is another good October data point for the city's basketball map.

Here is my measured take: I liked the patience. A 39-37 halftime lead at home can tempt a team into forcing threes and opening the floor for transition. Iraklis did the opposite. They cleaned up the defense, shared the ball to 24 assists, and let Styles, Horchler and Melvin punish the paint and the short roll. Wurzburg's cold three-point night helped, sure. But 27-12 in a European third quarter is a choice. Keep choosing that, and 2-0 becomes a platform instead of a footnote.

Next up, Iraklis host Dziki Warszawa on Wednesday, October 21, at 19:30 Greek time at the Ivanofio, as SDNA and Makedonika Nea both reported, still in the FIBA Europe Cup group stage. Wurzburg head home to face MZT Skopje a day earlier. Two wins do not make a campaign. A third at home against Polish opposition would start to look like control of the group rather than a hot start.

For that one, and for every other Greek club still grinding through Europe in October, keep an eye on our Greek Sports section. Two from two at Ivanofio. Now finish the job.

Sources: Gazzetta, Ta Nea, SDNA, Makedonika Nea, FIBA.

Image: Flag of Greece, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).