Dejan Radonjic's side remains the leader in Group A
Bahcesehir continues its winning run, downs Wolves 84-74
Bahcesehir College Istanbul registered its seventh win in a row on Wednesday night, defeating the visiting Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius 84-74. Bahcesehir improved to a 9-1 record atop the Group A standings, while Wolves dropped to 5-5 on the season. This outcome also means Bahcesehir swept the season series against the Wolves.
In a closely contested game, the hosts made a key run at the start of the third quarter, opening a double-digit lead, and the Wolves never got closer than 6 points the rest of the way. Axel Bouteille led the winners with 19 points and 6 rebounds, while Jaleen Smith, CJ Massinburg and Tyler Cavanaugh scored 13 apiece. Cavanaugh also pulled down 11 rebounds. Anthony Cowan had 23 points for the visitors, Andrew Andrews netted 18 points, Tre'Shawn Thurman scored 11 and Marek Blazevic poured in 10 points in the defeat.
Game Videos
Massinburg and Bouteille each hit a three in the first two and a half minutes to put the hosts up 8-3, but after a timeout, the Wolves responded with close-range baskets from Kristupas Zemaitis and Thurman, before Cowan's triple tied it at 12-12. A jumper from Garrison Brooks helped put the visitors ahead, but Mateusz Ponitka scored 5 points, including a triple, to make it 19-18 at the end of the first quarter.
The two teams traded baskets, and leads, throughout the second quarter, which featured nine lead changes and five ties. Marko Simonovic and Andrews exchanged close-range baskets, then Bouteille scored three times inside to make it 29-27. The visitors regained the lead after trips to the free-throw line, and Andrews nailed a three-pointer that helped the Wolves hold a 34-36 lead at halftime.
The Wolves kept the lead early in the third through Cowan, Regimantas Miniotas and Thurman, but Cavanaugh scored 7 points, including a three-point play and a fastbreak dunk to make it 43-42. Back-to-back triples from Smith and Massinburg extended Bahcesehir's margin to 51-46. Cowan replied with a three-pointer, but a three-point play from Bouteille and another triple from Smith, this one with a high lucky bounce, extended it to a 7-point lead in the final minute of the third, but Andrews hit a buzzer-beating jumper to make it 59-54 after 10 minutes.
Bahcesehir scored the first 7 points of the fourth, with Tai Odiase and Smith banking shots from close range, then Bouteille knocking one down from downtown to open 66-54. Thurman snapped the run, and Andrews hit a triple that helped cut into the margin, 69-63. Cavanaugh and Cowan traded triples, before Ponitka and Blazevic traded close-range baskets. The visitors kept the margin at 6 points, but Smith nailed another three-pointer with 1:10 to go, making it 81-71, icing the game.