Besiktas pulls out its third straight road win
Besiktas wins drama over Buducnost, 88-90
In a thriller that went down to the wire, Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul edged Buducnost VOLI Podgorica 88-90 on Wednesday night in the Montenegrin capital. Besiktas improved its record to 6-4 which is tied for a third-best in Group A, while Buducnost dropped to 4-6.
Besiktas took the lead with a 4-17 run that opened the third quarter and never trailed again, but also never had a lead bigger than 8 points. In the final seconds, Buducnost had two shots to win, but first Fletcher Magee and then McKinley Wright missed would-be game-winning three-pointers. Jonah Mathews and Kelan Martin scored 20 apiece in a victory. Dustin Sleva added 16, Kyle Allman 11 and Derek Needham had 10 points for the visitors. Kenan Kamenjas was Buducnost's top scorer with 21 points, Mateo Dreznjak had 17 points and Juwan Morgan 13 in a loss.
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Besiktas started well on the offensive boards, which led to baskets from Sleva and Kerem Konan. Wright hit a triple for the hosts, but back-to-back threes from Allman and Needham opened a 5-10 lead. Andrija Slavkovic answered with a three-pointer of his own, and a three-pointer from Magee got Buducnost ahead, 13-12. Alen Omic extended the margin to 19-14, but Martin's basket and Berk Ugurlu's triple tied it at 19-19.
Martin had a corner three and a tough basket inside to give Besiktas a 19-24 lead. Juwan Morgan snapped a 0-10 run, but another basket in the paint from Martin made it 21-28. However, three-point plays, one by each Dreznjak and Rasheed Sulaimon, restored Buducnost advantage, 29-28. Back-to-back threes from Dreznjak and Juwan Morgan made it 35-30. Allman and Conor Morgan got the visitors within a single point, only for Buducnost to put together an 8-0 run fueled by Sulaimon and Kamenjas, 43-34. Sleva and Mathews managed to cut it to 45-39 going into the halftime.
The visitors opened the third quarter strong, with Mathews hitting a three and Needham a long two. A basket from Sleva put Besiktas ahead and Mathews extended the lead from the free throw line to 47-51 after only 3 minutes. Sleva's three-pointer followed by a tough jumper from Mathews made it 49-56. Things slowed down, with many stoppages, as Kamenjas scored a three-point play, but Mathews had a pair of jumpers and Martin a triple to make it an 8-point game, only for Dreznjak's layup to make it 60-65 after 30 minutes.
Martin opened the fourth quarter with a triple, but Morgan and Kamenjas did the work inside, the latter with a three-point play that got Buducnost within 67-68. Martin and Sleva each hit a three-pointer, then Sleva added a three-point play and another triple to keep Besiktas ahead, 75-80. Dreznjak dunked and Juwan Morgan muscled in a basket, but Mathews netted a long two to keep it at 79-84 entering the final 2 minutes. Magee's second-chance three-pointer got the hosts within a single point, allowing for a dramatic finish. Needham made a three with 35 seconds to go, but Sulaimon answered the same way 11 seconds later to make it 88-89. Mathews split free throws, and Buducnost had two chance to win, but Besiktas survived.