The English visitors improved to 5-2, while the Turkish hosts dropped to the same record.
London holds off Besiktas's comeback, 80-83



The London Lions remained undefeated on the road in Group A of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup by downing Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul 80-83 at BJT Emlakjet Sports and Event Hall on Wednesday. Both teams now have a 5-2 record in Group A behind undefeated Paris Basketball (7-0).
Gabe Olaseni paced the winners with 24 points on 10-of-15 two-pointers. Matt Morgan added 17 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists for London. Jonah Mathews and Matthew Mitchell led Besiktas with 19 points apiece. Angel Delgado added a double-double of 18 points and 14 rebounds, 8 of which came on the offensive end.
Matt Morgan gave London an early lead
Olaseni scored London's opening 8 points, then Matt Morgan's driving layup gave the guests a 5-10 lead. Mathews stepped up for Besiktas and Angel Delgado's layup tied it at 12-12. Leyton Hammons hit a triple and fed Kerem Konan for a layup, good for a 17-15 Besiktas advantage. Matt Morgan and Conor Morgan each struck from beyond the arc to make London regain a 19-25 margin after 10 minutes.
Three-pointers kept London in charge
Matt Morgan remained on fire early in the second quarter to boost the guests' lead to 21-30. Egehan Arna and Delgado fueled a 9-0 run that Mitchell capped with back-to-back jumpers, tying the game at 30-30. Mo Soluade and Conor Morgan each nailed a three-pointer to make Besiktas call a timeout at 35-40. Soluade and Olaseni allowed London to hold on to a 42-46 lead at halftime.
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London stopped Besiktas's comeback
Delgado and Derek Needham took over after the break, bringing Besiktas within 47-48. Belgado soon scored around the basket to tie it at 53-53. Luke Nelson hit a jumper, Olaseni added a layup and Soluade a three-pointer in a 0-10 run that made it a double-digit game, 53-63. Mathews and Needham brought Besiktas a bit closer, 59-68, after 30 minutes.
Besiktas rallied, London won
Matt Morgan followed a wild three-point play with a stop-and-pop three-pointer that seemed to break the game open, 61-74, with over 8 minutes left. Yigit Arslan and Delgado stepped up for the hosts, Mitchell followed a three-pointer with a layup-plus-foul and Hammonds also struck from downtown for a 78-82 Besiktas deficit with 53.5 seconds left. Mitchell scored around the basket with 7.5 seconds remaining to make it 80-82, then Jordan Taylor split free throws, setting an 80-83 score, and Hammonds missed from downtown at the buzzer.