Bourg outlasts Turk Telekom, 88-80

Darius McGhee and Both Gach helped Bourg prevail in its home opener

Regular Season

Round 2 of 18

game Turk Telekom Ankara vs Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse

Regular Season

group b

Cosea JL Bourg-en-BresseJLB

8880

Turk Telekom AnkaraTTA

group b

Overview

w

l

In a thriller that went down to the wire, Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse remained undefeated in Group B by topping Turk Telekom Ankara 88-80 at Ekinox in Round 2 on Wednesday.

Bourg improved to 2-0 in the standings while Turk Telekom dropped to 0-2. Darius McGhee and Both Gach led the winners with 21 points apiece. Adam Mokoka added 17 while Assemian Moulare had 10 for Bourg. Marko Simonovic led Turk Telekom with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Dogus Ozdemiroglu added 14 points, 8 assists and 6 steals while Jaleen Smith had 11 points for the guests.

Gach got Bourg going with a three-pointer, then he got help from Kevin Kokila and Mokoka to give the hosts a quick 7-3 lead. Simonovic struck from downtown and Kyle Allman added a step-back jumper that tied it at 8-8. McGhee buried a couple of triples in a 10-0 run that Ricky Lindo capped with a layup, good for a 18-8 Bourg lead. Antony Labanca followed Mokoka's dunk with a driving layup that made it a 12-point game, 22-10. Moulare and an unstoppable Mokoka made the guests call a timeout at 29-14. Berkan Durmaz stepped up for Turk Telekom before Moulare's floater fixed the score at 31-17 after 10 minutes.

Kris Bankston followed a layup with a spectacular alley-oop slam early in the second quarter. Jordan Usher got on the scoreboard, and Ozdemiroglu answered Gach’s acrobatic basket with a driving layup, cutting the deficit to 35-25. Mokoka continued to lead Bourg’s offense, then Simonovic and Gach exchanged three-pointers before Durmaz kept the visitors within reach at 39-30. McGhee floated one in, and Kokila’s dunk gave Bourg some breathing room at 43-32. Simonovic and Kokila traded layups, McGhee scored off a steal, and Mokoka responded to Allman’s triple with a powerful basket-plus-foul, extending Bourg’s lead to 50-37. Simonovic narrowed the gap slightly for Turk Telekom, making it 50-39 at halftime.

Kokila hit a jump hook soon after the break. Simonovic matched that with a reverse layup and followed Ozdemirgolu's driving basket with a close basket that brought Turk Telekom within single digits, 53-45. Labanca rescued Bourg with a step-back floater, getting help from Moulare to keep the hosts way ahead, 57-47. Ozdemirgolu struck from beyond the arc and Smith followed Bankston's put-back layup with a jumper that made Bourg call a timeout at 57-54. Usher capped a 0-9 run with a power layup, as Yvann Mbaya copied him at the other end. Simonovic also scored down low, Smith hit a jumper and Ozdemiroglu struck from downtown to give Turk Telekom its first lead, 60-63, after 30 minutes.

Ozdemiroglu scored off a steal and fed Simonovic for a fast-break layup for a 60-67 score early in the fourth quarter. Mokoka struck from downtown and McGhee added back-to-back layups to keep Bourg within 67-69. Smith scored around the basket but Gach hit back-to-back triples to make Bourg regain a 73-71 lead with over 4 minutes left. Simonovic dunked and bettered Gach's slam with a three-point play, good for a 75-76 Turk Telekom lead. McGhee buried a three-pointer and made free throws, restoring an 80-76 Bourg advantage. McGhee sank a smooth step-back jumper that Ozdemiroglu erased with a driving layup. Kokila split free throws, then Simonovic hit both attempts before Mokoka's corner triple sealed the outcome down the stretch.