The Turkish side now has five wins in this season's EuroCup
Jaleen Smith leads Bahcesehir past Trefl, 79-67
Bahcesehir College Istanbul grabbed its third consecutive win in Group A of the 2024-25 BKT EuroCup season by topping Trefl Sopot 79-67 at home in Round 6 on Wednesday.
Bahcesehir improved to 5-1 in the standings while Trefl dropped to 0-6. Jaleen Smith paced the winners with 22 points. Axel Bouteille added 14, Mateusz Ponitka had 12, Tai Odiase 11 and Marko Simonovic 10 for Bahcesehir. Jakub Schenk led Trefl with 14 points. Tarik Phillip added 13, Jaroslaw Zyskowski had 12 while Marcus Weathers and Andy Van Vliet each got 10 for the guests.
Game Videos
Van Vliet got Trefl going with a jump hook. Smith answered from downtown and Odiase matched Phillip's dunk with his own slam for a 5-4 Bahcesehir lead. Phillip kept pacing Trefl with a reverse layup, then Bouteille buried back-to-back three-pointers to make the hosts regain an 11-6 edge. Zyskowski joined the three-point shootout and Van Vliet scored in transition to tie it at 11-11. Ponitka hit a triple, but Aaron Best and Weathers helped Trefl tie the game again, 15-15, after 10 minutes.
Schenk struck from beyond the arc early in the second quarter. Egehan Arna scored around the basket and Smith sank his second three-pointer, good for a 20-18 Bahcesehir lead. Van Vliet banked in a close shot off a spin move, Smith matched that with a driving basket, then Simonovic followed with a bomb from downtown that boosted the hosts' lead to 25-20. Schenk insisted from downtown and Robert McGowens got Trefl as close as 25-24. Tyler Cavanaugh and Bouteille combined for 8 points in a 13-0 run that Simonovic capped with a three-point play for a 38-24 score. Ponitka boosted the hosts' lead even further, 43-27, at halftime.
Smith banked in a running shot soon after the break and Odiase hit his trademark jump hook to make it a 19-point game, 47-28. Best tried to ignite Trefl's comeback with a driving layup, Phillip added a second-chance basket and Van Vliet's jump hook gave the guests hope at 48-34. Zyskowski followed a layup with a floater and got help from Schenk and Mikolaj Witlinski to get Trefl within single digits, 49-40. Weathers took over with a put-back basket and Phillip dunked off a steal to make Bahecsehir call a timeout, 49-44. Zyskowski capped a 2-18 run with a jump hook, then Smith's four-point play gave Bahcesehir a 53-46 margin after 30 minutes.
Odiase scored around the basket early in the fourth quarter and Smith bettered Phillip's layup with a triple that gave Bahcesehir fresh air at 58-48. Smith insisted from beyond the arc to make Trefl stop the game at 61-48. Phillip hit a triple, Odiase answered with an alley-oop layup and Zyskowski kept Trefl within 63-53. Bouteille dunked, Weathers buried a three-pointer, then Smith's jumper restored a 68-56 Bahcesehir lead. Simonovic took over with a backdoor slam, getting help from Sehmus Hazer and Bouteille to restore a 74-61 Bahcesehir lead with 4 minutes left. Trefl kept trying but the hosts kept a safe lead until the final buzzer.