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Strong finish sees Bahcesehir beat Cluj, 90-98

Strong finish sees Bahcesehir beat Cluj, 90-98

Game Report

3 Mins read

Zoran Milosavljevic

Strong finish sees Bahcesehir beat Cluj, 90-98

The Turkish team got off the mark with a fine win in Romania thanks to a flowing team effort

Regular Season

Round 1 of 18

game Bahcesehir College Istanbul vs U-BT Cluj-Napoca

Regular Season

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U-BT Cluj-NapocaUBT

9098

Bahcesehir College IstanbulBKS

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Overview

Bahcesehir College Istanbul engineered a well-deserved 90-98 victory at U-BT Cluj-Napoca in both teams' opening round of the BKT EuroCup campaign after Malachi Flynn stood out for the visitors, who found an extra gear in the home stretch.

Flynn poured a game-high 24 points for Bahcesehir and racked up 7 boards, while Hunter Hale added 16 points for the Turkish team which shot an impressive 13 of 26 from three-point range.

Ismet Akpinar netted 13 points for the visiting team and Kenan Sipahi added 11, including a clutch three-pointer which put his outfit in a commanding position in the fourth quarter.

At the other end, Fatts Russel led Cluj on 21 points. Iverson Molinar netted 20, Dusan Miletic amassed 17 and 7 boards while Mitch Creek posted 18 points for the home team, but the support cast was almost invisible as Bahcesehir prevailed thanks to a deep roster.

Game Videos

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Odiase's huge block! Magic Moment
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Show all

It was a rollercoaster for 35 minutes as the lead changed hands tome and again, with Cluj gaining the upper hand early on the back of fervent home support in a packed gym.

Creek led the way with 9 first-quarter points for Cluj while Hale netted as many and Flynn poured in 7 points for the visitors in the first quarter, as Bahcesehir turned the tide to lead 22-25 after the opening 10 minutes.

The teams were level 45-45 at halftime after a flurry of turnovers and steals at both ends, with Cluj nosing ahead 60-56 midway through the third quarter on the back of a 9-0 blitz, triggered by a technical foul which saw Bahcesehir’s Matthew Mitchell ejected.

However, the Turkish outfit grabbed a 71-76 lead at the start of the fourth and never looked back as Sipahi and Flynn hit big three-pointers in quick succession. The hosts fought hard to stay in touch and slashed the deficit to 84-86, but another pair of huge shots from downtown by Sipahi and the unstoppable Flynn put Bahcesehir out of sight in the home straight.

The Turkish team also prevailed in the paint, having collected 17 boards apiece at both ends while Cluj only managed 6 offensive rebounds against a physical rival which thrived from its size advantage. Cluj was also reduced to 8 of 23 from downtown in the wake of aggressive Bahcesehir defense when the chips were down.