Cedevita Olimpija and Jerusalem share the lead atop Group A after Round 9, while Bourg is first in Group B
Game Center: A clean sweep for Friday night's home teams
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Friday, December 5
Besiktas GAIN Istanbul 101-83 Panionios Cosmorama Travel Athens
Besiktas grabbed its seventh win in the last eight games, downing Panionios 101-83 at Turkcell Basketball Development Center in Round 9 on Friday. Besiktas improved to 7-2 in Group B while Panionios dropped to 1-8 and is now on an eight-game losing streak.
Ante Zizic led the winners with 18 points and 13 rebounds for a monster double-double. Conor Morgan added 16, Jonah Mathews had 15, Berk Ugurlu 13 and Devon Dotson 11 for Besiktas. Giorgos Tsalmpouris led Panionios with 20 points, a new career high. Jaylen Hands had 11 while Markel Starks had 10 for the guests. Zizic had 6 points, then Anthony Brown and Mathews each struck from downtown in a 14-2 opening run which allowed Besiktas to lead the game from start to finish. Nate Watson's alley-oop dunk gave Panionios hope, 78-74, with 7 minutes left but Morgan, Mathews and Zizic fueled a 16-2 run that sealed the outcome long before the final buzzer.
Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse 88-73 Buducnost VOLI Podgorica
In a potentially crucial game of first versus second, Buducnost VOLI Podgorica fell to Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse on Friday night at the Ekinox Arena, 88-73. Both teams went back and forth for the majority of the first half, with Buducnost hanging around until the end of the second quarter, when Bourg pulled away through the tenacious play of Both Gach. As the teams split for half-time, the hosts held a 10-point advantage. The visitors fought valiantly, but every time they made ground, Frederic Fauthoux’s team affirmed their grip on the contest, eventually securing the 15-point victory.
Darius McGhee put together an excellent performance, recording 18 points, 6 rebounds and 7 dishes. Both Gach also starred for Bourg, adding 3 boards to his 22-point scoring display. The home team shot 11/31 from beyond the arc, causing serious problems for the opposing defense. Buducnost’s Yogi Ferrell logged 18 in the loss, while Fletcher Magee added 12 points of his own. The result moves table-topping Bourg to 8-1 for the season, while Andrej Zekelj’s men slide to 6-3 and fall to third place.
BAXI Manresa 99-72 Veolia Towers Hamburg
Manresa returned to winning ways in Group A by thrashing Hamburg 99-72 at Nou Congost in Round 9 on Friday night. Manresa improved to 4-5 in the standings, breaking a four-game losing streak. Meanwhile, Hamburg dropped to 0-9 and visits difficult Hapoel Midtown Jerusalem in Round 10.
Hugo Benitez led the winners with 17 points and 10 assists in just 23 minutes. Pierre Oriola added 16 points, Alex reyes had 13 while Marcis Steinbergs got 10 for Manresa. Zacharie Perrin led Hamburg with 20 points. Martin Breunig added 10 for the guests, that led 19-20 after 10 minutes. Oriola and Benitez allowed Manresa to get a 50-39 lead at halftime and extend it to 78-58 at the end of the third quarter, more than enough to keep full control of the game until the final buzzer.
Thursday, December 4
Bahcesehir College Istanbul 85-100 Neptunas Kleipeda
Neptunas pulled off a massive shock at the restart from the national team break by blowing out Bahcesehir 85-100 on the road for an important victory in their fight for the playoffs. Neptunas closed the first quarter on a 2-12 run to lead 18-32 and then built the advantage to 19 points early in the second quarter. Neptunas just kept going and the cushion grew to 30 points with 7 minutes to play. Bahcesehir managed to trim the deficit to 14 points in the closing moments, but Neptunas got the road win.
Arnas Velicka poured in 18 points with 6 assists, Zane Waterman scored 16 points and Rihards Lomazs had 15 points to help Neptunas snap a two-game losing streak for a 4-5 record in Group A. Bahcesehir has now lost three of the last four games for a 6-3 mark. Six players scored in double figures with Balsa Koprivica collecting 13 points, 7 rebounds and 6 blocks and Mateusz Ponitka had 13 points.
Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 108-74 Slask Wroclaw
Cedevita Olimpija kept its spot atop Group A at the midway point of the regular season after a resounding 108-74 win over visiting Slask on Thursday night. The team from the Slovenian capital improved to 7-2 record, while Slask dropped to 4-5 on the season.
Cedevita used a big 37-point second quarter, in which it missed only 2 field goals, to open a 19-point halftime lead, then cruised the rest of the way for its fourth consecutive triumph. The hosts had six scorers in double figures led by Umoja Gibson with 19 points and 8 assists. Aleksej Nikolic netted 17 points, while DJ Stewart scored 14 in the win. Noah Kirkwood had 14 points and 9 assists for Slask.
ratiopharm ulm 87-100 Dolomiti Energia Trento
Trento finished the first half of the regular season in strong fashion by getting a big 87-100 road victory over struggling Ulm. Trento took control of the game in the third quarter with a 3-15 run for a 56-68 advantage. Ulm could not get closer than nine points the rest of the way. Trento used an 8-13 advantage in offensive rebounds for a 9-17 cushion in second chance points. Also, after making 7 of 12 three-pointers in the first half, Ulm missed its first 13 triple attempts in the second half.
DeVante’ Jones and Jordan Bayehe both scored 19 points for Trento and DJ Steward had 18 points. The Italian side snapped a two-game losing streak to improve to a 4-5 record. Nelson Weidemann paced Ulm with 21 points but 16 of those came in the first half, and Mark Smith had 20 points in the loss. Ulm fell to 4-5 with five losses in its last six games.
NINERS Chemnitz 63-87 Turk Telekom Ankara
Turk Telekom claimed a 63-87 road win over Chemnitz at MESSE Chemnitz to improve to 6-3 in Group B, while Chemnitz dropped to 3-6. Turk Telekom held the momentum for most of the night, with both teams finding scoring opportunities by attacking the rim in the first half. From the third quarter on, Telekom’s tightened defense limited Chemnitz’s scoring options, allowing the visitors to take control and close out the win.
Turk Telekom was led by Jaleen Smith, who finished with 17 points and 4 rebounds, while Kris Bankston added 12 points and 6 boards. Michael Devoe contributed 13 points and 7 assists, and Doğuş Özdemiroğlu chipped in 11 points and 4 assists. For NINERS Chemnitz, Amadou Sow posted 16 points and 5 rebounds, Kevin Yebo added 16 and 6, and Yordan Minchev closed with 10 points and 4 rebounds.
Lietkabelis Panevezys 61-74 London Lions
The London Lions bounced back in style from its last home loss against Bourg thanks to a solid road 61-74 win over Lietkabelis at Kalnapilio Arena on Thursday night. Despite trailing 17-16 at the end of the first period, the visitors took control of the game with a 0-15 run bridging the second and the third quarter to reach a game-high 18-point advantage (34-52) after 26 minutes. Despite several efforts to come back, Lietkabelis couldn’t get closer than 9 points for the rest of the game, allowing London to get its second away victory of the season and improve to 4-5. The home team slipped to 2-7.
Tarik Phillip was close to posting a triple-double by finishing with 15 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists to lead the winners. Deane Williams followed with 15 points and 5 assists, being perfect from long range with 3-of-3 triples, while Chason Randle had 13 with 4-of-6 from deep. Jamel Morris paced Lietkabelis with 22 points and Paulius Danusevicius posted 10 in the hosts' losing effort.
Aris Thessaloniki Betsson 88-98 U-BT Cluj-Napoca
Cluj celebrated an impressive 88-98 road win at Aris and improved to 5-4 while the home team dropped to 4-5 after a see-saw affair. Aris made a flying start and raced into an 8-0 lead before Cluj regained some composure and slashed the deficit, but the home kept the upper hand and led 21-17 at the end of the first quarter. The visitors closed in to 39-38 late in the second as Aris began to struggle on offense but the Greek side headed into the halftime break with a slender 41-38 advantage. Points were hard to come by in a low-scoring third quarter and Cluj headed into the fourth with a 58-60 lead after stifling out the home team. A flurry of fast breaks saw the Romanian side surge ahead 80-91 with one minute left on the clock and Cluj closed out the game comfortably for a precious road win.
Mitch Creek paced Cluj on 27 points and 6 boards while Molinar Iverson racked up 18 points and 8 assists. Daron Russel chipped in with 16 points and 6 assists while Dusan Miletic added 12 points for the visitors. At the other end, Danilo Andjusic and Amine Noua sank 20 points each for Aris while Elijah-Mitrou Long added 15
Hapoel Midtown Jerusalem 98-66 Umana Reyer Venice
Jerusalem continued its winning ways, leading from start to finish and blowing past Reyer 98-66 on Thursday night in Belgrade. The Israeli side’s sixth straight win saw it improve to a 7-2 record, tied for the best in Group A, while Reyer dropped to 4-5 for the season. Jerusalem opened the game with a 14-2 run, led by 21 at halftime, and cruised the rest of the way.
Jerusalem had six players in double figures, led by Jared Harper, who had 18 points and 9 assists. Khadeen Carrington and Yovel Zoosman scored 15 apiece in a victory. RJ Cole scored 12 in defeat.