Trento, Cluj and Jerusalem all notched wins on Tuesday night
Game Center: Bahcesehir remains unbeaten; Besiktas, Neptunas, Reyer among other winners
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Wednesday, October 29
Besiktas GAIN Istanbul 90-60 Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse
Besiktas GAIN Istanbul made sure there are no more undefeated teams left in Group B by thrashing Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse 90-60 at home in Round 5 on Wednesday. Both teams now have a 4-1 record in the standings. Besiktas led 26-13 after 10 minutes, boosted its margin to 55-27 at halftime and kept a safe margin all the way until the final buzzer. This marked Bourg's first-ever loss by as many as 30 points in six EuroCup seasons.
Devon Dotson and Yigit Arslan led the winners with 16 points apiece. Ante Zizic added 15 and 14 rebounds, Jonah Mathews scored 14 and Anthony Brown scored 11 for Besiktas. Ricky Lindo paced Bourg with 11 points and Darius McGhee added 10.
Lietkabelis Panevezys 91-98 Buducnost VOLI Podgorica
Buducnost VOLI Podgorica picked up a big road victory in competitive Group B by beating Lietkabelis Panevezys 91-98. Buducnost poured in 59 points in the first half and held on to the lead the whole second half to improve to 3-2.
Juwan Morgan collected 17 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists and Yogi Ferrell had 16 points and 8 assists in the win. Lietkabelis has now lost four straight for a 1-4 record despite Michael Flowers picking up 20 points in his first EuroCup game for the team. Augustin Rubit added 17 points.
NINERS Chemnitz 89-78 ratiopharm ulm
NINERS Chemnitz defeated ratiopharm ulm 89-78 at Messe Chemnitz, improving to 2-3 in the BKT EuroCup. In a roller-coaster game, Chemnitz controlled the first half, but Ulm stormed back from a 13-point deficit in the third quarter to briefly take the lead. The home side, however, responded with an impressive fourth-quarter performance, tightening up defensively and closing out the game strong.
Corey Davis Jr. led Chemnitz with 23 points and 6 assists for a PIR of 32, while Kevin Yebo added 25 points and 9 rebounds. Ty Brewer also contributed 11 points. For Ulm, Malik Osborne recorded a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds, Mark Smith added 16 points and 7 rebounds, and Chris Ledlum chipped in 16 points.
Slask Wroclaw 92-104 Umana Reyer Venice
Umana Reyer Venice took control when it really mattered, as an impressive fourth quarter saw it defeat Slask Wroclaw 92-104 at Hala Orbita on Wednesday night. The teams traded blows for most of the first half, with Slask driving aggressively and Reyer shooting efficiently from beyond the arc. At the break, Neven Spahija’s men held a 3-point advantage. The teams continued to go back-and-forth as the second half began, but the hosts could not really take command at any point. Every time Slask edged ahead, Reyer would put together a run to regain the lead. An impressive in the fourth quarter widened the gap to double figures, as Carl Wheatle and Denzel Valentine made key threes to pull away.
Valentine’s second half shooting barrage made him the difference maker for Reyer. The American forward added 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals to his 18-point scoring display, punctuated by hitting 6 of 10 from three-point land. Jordan Parks, RJ Cole, Kyle Wiltjer and Ky Bowman also reached double digits in scoring. The result ends Slask’s perfect home record in the competition, moving to 2-3 in it’s EuroCup campaign. The Venetians will be relieved to have improved their record to 2-3 after a tough start.
Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 91-94 Neptunas Kleipeda
Neptunas Klaipeda surprised Cedevita Olimpija and pulled out a valuable 91-94 win from Arena Stozice on Wednesday night. The visitors got their second straight win - and first on the road - to improve to 2-3, while Cedevita dropped to 3-2 after losing its second in a row and first at home.
Neptunas set the foundations for a victorious night early in the game, thanks to an 11-31 advantage after 9 minutes. Despite a strong rally that put Cedevita ahead 71-70 early in the fourth quarter, a rack of three-point plays by Richard Lomasz and Arnas Velicka returned a double-digit lead, 76-86, to Neptunas, which proved good enough to confirm the win.
Lomasz paced the winners with career-high 25 points, James Karnik posted 18 points and 8 boards for a PIR of 28, Mindaugas Girdziunas scored 16 and Velicka finished with 11 points and 8 dimes. Aleksej Nikolic poured in 19 points and dished 6 assists, Umoja Gibson followed with 17 and 8, while David Skara, DJ Stewart and Thomas Kennedy provided 17, 14 and 11 points respectively for the losers.
London Lions 77-89 Turk Telekom Ankara
Turk Telekom Ankara grabbed its third consecutive victory in Group B by downing the London Lions 77-89 at the Copper Box Arena in the British capital on Wednesday. Turk Telekom improved to 3-2 in the standings while London dropped to 2-3 after registering its second home loss in this BKT EuroCup season.
Kyle Allman led the winners with 22 points and 6 assists. Jaleen Smith added 18 points, Kyle Alexander paired 15 points with 10 rebounds and Kris Bankston scored 12 points for Turk Telekom. Kameron McGusty and Joel Scott paced London with 16 points apiece and Tarik Phillip had 10 for the Lions, who led 52-50 early in the second half. Allman, Smith and Bankston stepped up to give Turk Telekom a double-digit lead, 60-72, after 30 minutes, which was enough to control the game for good.
BAXI Manresa 67-81 Bahcesehir College Istanbul
Bahcesehir College Istanbul finished Round 5 of the BKT EuroCup as the only remaining undefeated team after the Turkish side defeated BAXI Manresa 67-81 on the road. Bahcesehir went up by 13 points after 10 minutes and never allowed Manresa to get closer than 9 points the rest of the game.
Hunter Hale scored 17 points to pace four Bahcesehir scorers in double figures, including Malachi Flynn with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists as Bahcesehir improved to 5-0 in Group A. Manresa saw its three-game winning streak snapped to drop to 3-2. Agustin Ubal top-scored for the Spanish club with a career-high 15 points.
Tuesday, October 28
Panionios Cosmorama Travel Athens 87-91 Dolomiti Energia Trento
Dolomiti Energia Trento used a fourth-quarter rally to shock Panionios Cosmorama Travel Athens 87-91 in their Group B clash on Tuesday night in the Greek capital. Trento improved to 2-3 record, while Panionios lost its fourth consecutive game as not even a coaching changed helped it avoid dropping to 1-4 record.
For Trento, which trailed by as many as 14 points in the third quarter, and took its first second-half lead with under 3 minutes to go in the game, DeVante Jones led the way with 20 points and 6 rebounds. DJ Steward had 18 points while Matas Jogela netted 16. Nate Watson had 20 points, while Matt Lewis and Giorgos Tsalmpouris scored 18 apiece in a loss by the home team coached by Ilias Zouros.
Hamburg Veolia Towers 76-95 U-BT Cluj-Napoca
U-BT Cluj-Napoca claimed a 95-76 win over Veolia Towers Hamburg at Inselpark Arena to improve to 3-2 in the BKT EuroCup. Fatts Russell led the way with 26 points, setting the tone early and guiding his team throughout the game. Despite Hamburg’s efforts to close the gap in the second half, Cluj maintained its rhythm and composure to secure the victory on the road.
Alongside Russell, Dusan Miletic added 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks, while Mitch Creek contributed 9 points and 5 rebounds for a PIR of 18. For Hamburg, Leonard Thorpe finished with 18 points and 6 assists and Zacharie Perrin posted 17 points, 7 rebounds, while Carlos Stewart chipped in 11 points.
Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem 103-76 Aris Thessaloniki Betsson
Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem comfortably defeated Aris Thessaloniki Betsson 103-76 on Tuesday night at Hala Sportova Rank Zeravica. Igor Milicic’s first game as Aris head coach saw his team make a competitive start, attacking in transition through the rapid pace of Bryce Jones. Jerusalem pushed back, earning a one-point lead heading into halftime.
The third quarter is when everything changed; the home team pulled away, scoring and defending as a unit to carve out a double-digit advantage. Jared Harper and Khadeen Carrington shot confidently, growing the lead down the stretch and with Justin Smith dominating the paint, Jerusalem were simply too much for the visitors. Despite losing the battle on the boards, the hosts finished with 9 more assists, 6 fewer turnovers and hit 50% of their shots from beyond the arc.
Harper played the starring role, adding 2 steals and 8 assists to his 18-point scoring performance. Smith, Carrington, Cassius Winston, Anthony Lamb and Yovel Zoosman all also scored in double figures. The victory moves the hosts to 3-2, while Aris falls to 2-3. Bryce Jones led Aris with 18 in defeat.