Wolves Vilnius put on a show their fans will never forget with a come-from-behind win in their first-ever home game in the BKT EuroCup.
Wolves edge Besiktas 90-88 for first-ever EuroCup win



Wolves led for much of the game, but needed to erase a late 8-point deficit to rally past Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul 90-88 at Avia Solutions Group Arena in the Lithuanian capital on Tuesday. The victory was the club's first-ever win in the competition and saw it improve to 1-2 in Group A, while Besiktas fell to 3-1.
Tre'Shawn Thurman was the star of the game with 31 points and 7 rebounds, including what proved to be the game-winner after a steal with 7.7 seconds remaining. Kristupas Zemaitis added 17 points on 4-of-5 three-point shooting and Rasheed Sulaimon contributed 13 points and 6 assists. Matt Mitchell paced Besiktas with 21 points, Jonah Mathews scored 20, Angel Delgado had 18 and Derek Needham 10.
Wolves enjoy hot start
Wolves scored on each of their first seven possessions, with Thurman going off for 10 points in that span, to jump to a 17-8 lead. Delgado and Mitchell helped the visitors trim the gap and free throws by Samet Yigitoglu made it 19-16. The scoreboard showed 22-18 after 10 minutes.
Needham, who was limited to just 3:26 minutes of play in the first quarter due to foul trouble, was called for his third foul after just 1:14 on the floor in the second. Zemaitis made the resulting free throws and Sulaimon scored on the break to put Wolves up 31-22. A triple by Thurman soon gave the hosts a double-digit lead. Delgado and Mitchell provided the Besiktas resistance, while Thurman went to the bench with 3 fouls. Mathews got Besiktas as close as 41-35 and the halftime score was 44-37.
Game Videos
Mitchell and Delgado put the pressure on Wolves at the start of the second half, though threes by Zemaitis and Sulaimon kept the hosts in charge. Needham capped a 0-7 Besiktas run with a layup to even things at 50-50 only to see Zemaitis knock down a pair of triples for the home team. Needham remained hot to tie it from downtown and Mitchell gave Besiktas its first lead of the game, 62-63, with a three-point-play with 2:26 remaining in the third quarter. Needham then went to the bench with 4 fouls and Wolves regained the lead, 67-65, by the end of the quarter.
Fourth-quarter thrills
Thurman extended the margin to 72-67 with a shot-clock beating triple early in the fourth quarter. Besiktas roared back with 7 straight points to take the lead on a Delgado put-back. Delgado continued to punish Wolves inside and a three by Leyton Hammonds made it 76-84 for Besiktas with less than 3 minutes remaining. Wolves halved the deficit, but a long jumper by Mathews made it 80-86 with 59 seconds left. Thurman converted a 4-point play with 10.4 seconds left to get the hosts within 1. Then the same player stole the ball and scored what would prove to be the game-winner with 7.7 seconds left as Mathews missed a jumper at the other end.