Rytas Vilnius suffered their first defeat of the FIBA Champions League season. In their Round 2 away fixture, a difficult second half saw the capital’s club fall 65:93 (17:21, 13:14, 15:31, 20:27) to Nanterre 92.
Both teams struggled to find an offensive rhythm early on, remaining scoreless for nearly two and a half minutes. Kay Bruhnke broke the ice for Vilnius, soon adding a turnaround jumper to level the score at 6:6. However, the French hosts quickly seized control: Lucas Dussoulier and J’Wan Roberts scored in the paint, while Benjamin Sene attacked the rim for consecutive finishes to give Nanterre a 6:13 edge. Augustas Marčiulionis and Gytis Radzevičius drew fouls to steady the ship, and a pull-up midrange jumper from Michael Devoe alongside a Ricky Lindo Jr. slam kept Vilnius close (14:17). Despite free throws from Oskaras Pleikys, the opening quarter concluded with the hosts leading 21:17.
The second period brought physical battles inside the key. Devoe answered a Xavier Castaneda triple with a driving score as Vilnius fought to limit second-chance opportunities. Artūras Gudaitis scored inside, Radzevičius hit a fadeaway, and Matas Jogėla threw down a fast-break dunk following a Cassius Winston steal (27:30). Jogėla added another basket moments later to cut the deficit to a single point (29:30). However, Vilnius could not find the go-ahead score; Nanterre took advantage of second-chance putbacks to hold a 30:35 lead at halftime.
The turning point came right after the restart. Although Gudaitis converted a three-point play inside (32:35), the Vilnius perimeter defense began to unravel against hot outside shooting. Len Schoormann and Castaneda knocked down several consecutive triples, igniting a rapid run that widened the gap to 35:50. Individual drives by Radzevičius failed to slow the onslaught—Castaneda continued to punish from beyond the arc, while turnovers allowed Nanterre to break out in transition through Devin McGlockton and Hugo Yimga-Moukouri. The deficit spiraled out of reach, ballooning to 21 points by the end of the third quarter (45:66).
Vilnius could not stage a fourth-quarter rally as the hosts refused to take their foot off the gas. Yimga-Moukouri struck from deep and finished on the break (46:71). Even as Gudaitis and Winston converted from the charity stripe, Nanterre completely dominated the glass, eventually pushing the margin to thirty points (55:87). Late points from Jogėla, Pleikys, and Devoe did little to alter the outcome as the game ended in a tough 65:93 road loss.