Its 25 offensive boards tied for the sixth-most ever in a EuroCup game
Jerusalem used club record in offensive rebounds to beat Hamburg
Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem took advantage of a massive difference in rebounding - especially offensive boards - to grab a second straight victory in the BKT EuroCup. And one of the leaders in that segment of the game - once again - was league debutant Austin Wiley.
Wiley struggled shooting the ball in scoring 12 points on 4 of 12 shots and 2 of 4 free throws but he snatched 17 rebounds, including 8 from the offensive glass in Jerusalem’s 89-74 win over Veolia Towers Hamburg.
The Israeli side grabbed 50 rebounds to just 30 for Hamburg - including 25 offensive rebounds. That set a new club record, topping the previous best of 21 in the 2013-14 season. And Jerusalem turned those extra possessions into a 27-7 advantage in second-chance points.
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The mark of 25 also ties for sixth place for most offensive rebounds in a EuroCup game with the record 27 being held by Valencia Basket from 2016-17.
The 25-year-old Wiley has been a force in his first season in the EuroCup as he collected 8 points and 11 rebounds in the opening game against Valencia - 4 of those from the offensive glass. Wiley, who is in his fifth season in Europe, was limited to 2 points and 1 rebound in Jerusalem’s second game against Lietkabelis.
The 34-year-old veteran Chris Johnson was Wiley’s partner in crime crashing the glass with 6 rebounds - 5 of those being of the offensive kind. Justin Smith added 4 offensive rebounds and it was truly a team effort as six players grabbed at least 1 offensive rebound.
The effort was also needed as Jerusalem shot just 39.6% on two-pointers after the team had connected on 49.2% of its close-range shots in the first two games. Because of that, Jerusalem had totaled 14 offensive rebounds in the first two rounds of games.
Jerusalem head coach Yonatan Alon now knows that his team can really go at it on the offensive glass if it needs the extra possessions.