EUROBASKET QUALIFIERS

Davis Bertans helped the Latvian effort with 16 points on the night

Rihards Kuksiks poured in 28 points to lead Latvia to their first win of the EuroBasket qualifying campaign against the Netherlands.

After being edged out late on by Bosnia & Herzegovina in their opener, Latvia made sure there would be no late dramatics as they pulled away in the fourth quarter to secure victory.

Latvia had held the lead since early in the second quarter, but did not make it a comfortable one until they responded to a Kees Akerboom three-pointer with a 12-2 run to lead 57-47 on Dairis Bertans' lay-up.

The Dutch rallied early in the fourth quarter, with threes from David Jansen and Akerboom sparking an 8-0 run that brought the scores back to 67-65 with 5:21 to go.

But Kuksiks' three helped Latvia pull clear again and when Janis Strelnieks hit from deep with 1:56 on the clock, the score was 79-68.

Bertans finished with 16 points for Latvia, while Kaspars Berzins added 13.

Henk Norel had 16 points while Akerboom had 13 and Jansen 10.