The best-of-three BKT EuroCup Semifinals resume on Friday after the home teams won the openers on Tuesday. Will they continue on for a sweep or will we move on to deciding Game 3s next week?
Game Center: Paris sweeps to finals! Besiktas forces Game 3!
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Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul 81-72 Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse
Besiktas followed the inspiration of 15,000-plus fans to wrestle a 81-72 victory from visiting Bourg and force their BKT EuroCup Semifinals series to a third, do-or-die game next week in France. After a tense first half with 12 lead changes, Besiktas trailed 32-39 soon after halftime at the raucous Sinan Erdem Dome before reeling off an 11-0 run that changed the game for good. The lead reached a high of 73-58 with 5 minutes left before Besiktas closed it out. Jonah Mathews and Matthew Mitchell led five double-digit scores for Besiktas with 17 points each. Angel Delgado added 13 points, Derek Needham 12 and Marko Simonovic 11 for the winners. Isiaha Mike led Bourg with 19 points.
London Lions 85-93 Paris Basketball
Paris reached the BKT EuroCup Final after an 85-93 win at London Lions sealed a 2-0 sweep of their best-of-three semifinal series on Friday. The French advances to face either compatriots Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse or Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul, who are tied 1-1. Following an emphatic 99-86 victory on its home court in Game 1 , Paris fought back from a 45-39 halftime deficit at the Copper Box Arena and prevailed thanks to ironclad defense coupled with smooth offense in the second half. TJ Shorts paced Paris with 21 points and 6 assists, while Nadir Hifi and Sebastian Herrera posted 13 each. Justin Simon scored 11 points and Collin Malcolm chipped in with 10, as Paris overcame a poor first half in which it was out-muscled and committed 14 turnovers. Matt Morgan led London and all scorers with a game-high 25 points and Jordan Taylor added 17