Lietkabelis ended up sealing the outcome in the last 3 minutes of the game, outscoring its opponent 4-10 when the score was tied, 83-83.

Timely rebounding allowed Lietkabelis to finally smile on the road

[7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/lietkabelis-panevezys/roster/lkb/?season=2024-25) ended a three-game losing streak when it defeated [Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/hapoel-bank-yahav-jerusalem/roster/jer/) at Samokov Arena in Bulgaria on Wednesday night. The Lithuanians could finally enjoy a road victory after having lost to [U-BT Cluj-Napoca](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/cluj-holds-off-lietkabeliss-comeback-100-93/) (100-93), [Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/ec2425-rs4-report-lju-lkb/) (76-72) and [Turk Telekom Ankara](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/ec2425-rs1-report-ttk-lkb/) (72-66).

In Lietkebelis's last three losses, it had performed pretty well on offense, scoring 93 points each time but falling short in the end. This time, Lietkabelis didn’t repeat the same mistake and ended up sealing the outcome in the last 3 minutes of the game, outscoring its opponent 4-10 when the score was tied, 83-83.

“\[It was a\] very important win for us. Finally, we managed to convert the good game into a victory, what we didn't do in the last two games in Europe,” celebrated Lietkabelis head coach [Nenad Canak](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/7bet-lietkabelis-panevezys/lkb/canak-nenad/).

“We controlled the game. We didn't panic in some moments when Hapoel tried to change some defensive systems”, he continued. “And we controlled the rebound at the end, and it was very important for us that we just took 18 points in the last quarter, as we had many problems in previous games in the last quarters."

Game Videos

Rebounding, as Canak stressed, was a key factor in deciding the game, but not in the usual way. It was not because of a massive difference in the number of rebounds, as the visitors were slightly better, with 31 rebounds against Jerusalem's 27, and it was not either about the second-chance points difference, because Jerusalem even led that category with 13 against 10.

It was not about how many; it was all about when.

“We played bad, we didn't take the rebounds. You cannot win without rebounds... They had five more possessions in the last 2 minutes. So, they won,” Jerusalem head coach [Yonatan Alon](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/hapoel-bank-yahav-jerusalem/jer/alon-yonatan/?season=U2024) pointed out in the press conference. “We cannot turn the ball over so many times, and second, we need to play better defense. It’s not what we are. We need to go back to the fundamentals.”

Game News

That analysis can be summarized with the key plays that ended up deciding the game when the game was on the line. First, when the score was 81-81, two consecutive offensive rebounds by [Marko Percarski](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/marko-pecarski/005656/) and [Gabrielius Maldunas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/gabrielius-maldunas/010461/) allowed [Martynas Varnas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/martynas-varnas/005521/) to push his team ahead 81-83. Then, and few seconds later, [Mantas Rubstavicius ](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/mantas-rubstavicius/009299/)buried 3 consecutive free throws to start the final run, which continued with an off-the-steal basket by Maldunas and finished with a layup by [Oleksandr Kovliar](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/oleksandr-kovliar/013247/) after - again - two consecutive offensive rebounds by Maldunas and Pecarski.

“It's an amazing team victory,” Maldunas celebrated. “Finally, we won on the road. If we play like this, we are a very good team. We played two good games in EuroCup before this one, but we came up short and lost by a couple of points, but now we finally came through”.

This win gave Lietkabelis a much clearer and cleaner vision of the upcoming challenges, returning its hopes of reaching the postseason.

“Of course, we're still alive,” Canak assured. “We are still alive and when you are alive in a competition, it's easier to practice, easier to accept new things. So, it's very important for us.”

The Lithuanians made the most from Jerusalem's mistakes in the last minutes

Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem v 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys (2024-12-11T18:30:00.000Z)

Dreamland Gran Canaria extended its winning streak to four games by beating Buducnost VOLI Podgorica 82-71 at Gran Canaria Arena on Wednesday night. 

Gran Canaria raced past Buducnost, 82-71

Dreamland Gran Canaria extended its winning streak to four games by beating Buducnost VOLI Podgorica 82-71 at Gran Canaria Arena on Wednesday night. The hosts led from start to finish and improved their record to 9-2, moving top of Group A along with Bahcesehir College Istanbul. Buducnost recorded its second consecutive loss to drop to 4-7.

John Shurna led all scorers with 18 points, Pierre Pelos netted 14 and Miquel Salvo added 12. For Buducnost, Yogi Ferrell had 16 points and Fletcher Magee recorded 14. Juwan Morgan chipped in with 11 points and 9 rebounds, with Nikola Tanaskovic scoring 10.

Salvo opened the scoring with a bucket inside but Yogi Ferrell nailed a triple and Tanaskovic opened his account for a 2-5 lead. Joe Thomasson and Shurna responded with back-to-back threes that put the hosts ahead, 8-6. Ferrell tied it with a buzzer-beating jumper, but George Conditt and Salvo netted inside before Pierre Pelos drilled a triple to open a 16-8 lead. Then, Caleb Homesley came off the bench to sink a three-pointer before setting up Pelos for an easy basket, with Gran Canaria securing a 21-9 cushion after 10 minutes.

Morgan opened the second quarter with a dunk before Alen Omic and McKinley Wright trimmed the deficit to 21-16. Pelos ended Buducnost’s 0-7 run with a midrange jumper, which was Gran Canaria’s first score in 3 and a half minutes. What followed was an exchange of blows inside before Homesley drilled one from beyond the arc, extending the margin to double digits, 32-21. A Massamba Diop bucket in transition, Shurna’s second triple of the night and Joe Thomasson’s basket extended their team’s run to 12-0. Four hard-fought points from Andrija Slavkovic were not enough to end Gran Canaria’s momentum, with the hosts taking a 43-25 lead into halftime.

Andrew Albicy netted a long two-pointer, before Mateo Dreznjak and Salvo traded triples, as Gran Canaria maintained a 49-28 lead. Homesley and Shurna joined the three-point party, extending the lead to 55-30. Yet, three-point plays from Tanaskovic and Ferrell brought Buducnost within 58-38. The game turned into a back-and-forth affair, with Morgan taking his tally to 10 points with back-to-back baskets that only managed to slightly cut the difference to 63-45. Conditt IV took over with two buckets inside, but Ferrell netted one from deep to reduce the gap to 67-51 heading into the closing quarter.

The guests were not willing to give up and 5 unanswered points from Magee brought Buducnost within 69-56. Mike Tobey’s first basket of the night was followed by triples from Wright and Magee, who trimmed the deficit to 73-63 with less than 3 minutes left on the clock. But Gran Canaria didn’t blink an eye, tightened up its defense in the remaining time and sealed the outcome.

The hosts led by double digits for the majority of the game

Gran Canaria races past Buducnost, 82-71

Dreamland Gran Canaria v Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (2024-12-11T20:00:00.000Z)

Brynton Lemar stepped up big at Palasport Taliercio 


Cedevita gets pivotal win in Venice, 75-80! 

Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana took a crucial step towards reaching the playoffs from Group A by downing Umana Reyer Venice 75-80 on the road on Wednesday. Cedevita improved to 7-4 in the standings and has a 2-0 record against Reyer, which dropped to 5-6. 

Brynton Lemar led the winners with 23 points and Andrija Stipanovic added 10 for Cedevita. Jordan Parks and Mfiondu Kabengele led Reyer with 20 points apiece. Kyle Wiltjer and Rodney McGruder each added 10 for Reyer. Parks added 10 rebounds for a double-double.

Lemar got Cedevita going with a jumper. Joan Beringer added a put-back dunk and DJ Stewart's fastbreak layup caused Reyer to call timeout at 0-6. Aleksej Nikolic scored off an inbounds steal and then Beringer bettered Wiltjer's jumper with a huge dunk-and-foul for a 2-11 Cedevita lead. After Beringen scored again, Kabengele found his first points, but Lemar's three-pointer boosted the visitors' lead to 4-16. Parks stepped up for Reyer and got plenty of help from Kabengele to bring Reyer within 15-18. Stipanovic followed a three-point play with a put-back layup that made it 16-23. Martinas Geben and Devante Jones pushed the margin to double digits, 17-27, after 10 minutes. 

 

Gregor Glas took over with a fastbreak layup early in the second quarter. Kabengele hit a stop-and-pop jumper and Tyler Ennis's three-point play brought Reyer within 22-29. Parks buried a corner triple to cap an 8-0 run. Lemar struck from downtown and Stipanovic's fastbreak slam prompted the hosts to stop the game at 25-34. Nikolic banked in a close shot and added a layup-plus-foul. McGruder followed a corner triple with a layup in a 7-0 run that got Reyer within 32-39. Geben hit a jumper before Kabengele and Jaka Blazic traded three-pointers. Wiltjer drew his team within 37-44. Blazic scored again and Parks's alley-oop dunk fixed the halftime score at 39-46.

Kabengele hit a close jumper soon after the break and McGruder struck from downtown to make it a 2-point game. Parks joined the three-point shooting to complete Reyer's comeback, 47-46, after a 10-0 run. Lemar stepped up with a backdoor layup and a fadeaway jumper. Devin Robinson scored twice in penetration for a 47-54 Cedevita edge. Amedeo Tessitori and Davide Casarin rescued Reyer before Stewart gave the visitors fresh air at 51-57. Tessitori beat the buzzer with a put-back basket that got Reyer within 53-57 after 30 minutes.

Geben hit a jump hook early in the fourth quarter and Lemar buried a five-meter jumper hat boosted Cedevita's lead to 53-61 with over 7 minutes left. Stipanovic scored down low and Blazic's fast break layup made it 53-65. After Robinson dunked off a steal, Parks did better with a three-point play and McGruder brought Reyer within single digits, 58-67. Lemar hit an off-balance jumper in the lane and bettered Simms's driving layup with a bomb from beyond the arc. Kabengele followed a jumper with his second three-pointer. Simms added a coast-to-coast dunk that cato used Cedevita call timeout at 69-75. Stewart stopped the show with a huge dunk that sealed the outcome, as Reyer did not recover in the final 2 minutes.

Cedevita gets pivotal win in Venice, 75-80

Umana Reyer Venice v Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (2024-12-11T19:00:00.000Z)

ratiopharm Ulm remained in the running for third place in Group A as it swept the season series against Joventut Badalona with a commanding 88-102 road victory

Ulm downs Joventut, 88-102, for third straight victory 

ratiopharm Ulm remained in the running for third place in Group A as it swept the season series against Joventut Badalona with a commanding 88-102 road victory. Ulm collected its third straight win since the national team break after having lost four of the previous five games for a 7-4 record. Ben Saraf led the way with 18 points, Justinian Jessup had 16 points and 4 three-pointers, Marcio Santos scored 14 points and Karim Jallow chipped in 12 points. 

Joventut’s nightmare season continued with a third straight defeat and seventh in the last eight games for a 3-8 record - three wins away from the playoff ranks. Kassius Robertson paced Joventut with a career-high 23 points - his second straight round of establishing a personal best mark - and Devon Dotson added 18 points in the loss. 

Santos opened the scoring for the visitors while Joventut saw veteran big man Ante Tomic get hit with 2 fouls inside the first 57 seconds. It was 0-4 before Joventut finally scored after more than 2 minutes. Joventut’s backup big man Artem Pustovyi was sent back to the bench with 2 fouls after less than 3 minutes played. Santos scored Ulm’s first 9 points and Isaiah Roby’s three-pointer made it 2-12. Santos added a triple of his own for a 4-15 margin. The guests just kept pouring it on offensively with Saraf scoring 5 points as the cushion grew to 12-29. It was 16-32 after 10 minutes. 

Karim Jallow’s nice move in the paint had Ulm up 21-39 early on in the second quarter. Back-to-back triples trimmed the deficit to 27-39 but Jessup hit his second three-pointer to increase the lead to 19 points at 27-46. Joventut again got the gap to 12 points but trailed 42-56 at the break 

Jessup scored 4 points early in the second half to put Ulm up 46-64 and his 4th three-pointer had the guests ahead 50-67. Sam Dekker stepped up for back-to-back dunks as Joventut found itself down 56-67. Philipp Herkenhoff and Saraf both knocked down triples at the other end and Ulm was up 61-76. Herkenhoff added another three-pointer and Ulm led 70-85 after three quarters.

The duo of Robertson and Dotson kept trying to make the game close but it could not slow down the Ulm offense, and Herkenhoff’s third three-pointer made it 76-94 with less than 6 minutes to go. The advantage grew to 20 points and Joventut could only make the final result a bit more respectable in the closing minute. 

Ulm beats Joventut again thanks to balanced effort 

Joventut Badalona v ratiopharm Ulm (2024-12-11T19:30:00.000Z)

Conor Morgan, Kyle Allman and Derek Needham combined for 46 points as Besiktas Istanbul prevailed 89-82, canceling out Tai Odiase’s massive effort for Bahcesehir as the big man dominated with 20 points and 8 boards.

Besiktas trio was too much for battling Odiase in Istanbul derby 

[Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/besiktas-istanbul/roster/bes/?season=2024-25) came out on top against visiting [Bahcesehir College Istanbul ](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/bahcesehir-college-istanbul/roster/bah/?season=2024-25)in an absorbing Istanbul derby as the home team had too much firepower for the BTK EuroCup Group A leader, with the home team’s clutch trio delivering the goods.

[Conor Morgan](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/conor-morgan/009680/), [Kyle Allman](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/kyle-allman/011924/) and [Derek Needham](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/derek-needham/008945/) combined for 46 points as [Besiktas prevailed 89-82](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/besiktas-overpowers-bahcesehir-89-82-in-istanbul-derby/), canceling out [Tai Odiase](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/tai-odiase/011823/)’s massive effort for the visitors as the big man dominated with 20 points and 8 boards.

Bahcesehir was left with too much work to do in the second half after trailing 58-43 at the interval, having fallen behind 49-29 late in the first half due to lethal three-point shooting from Besiktas.

The hosts were 10 of 17 from downtown at halftime while the visitors made only 2 of 9, as Besiktas played airtight defense on the perimeter and forced Bahcesehir to take a barrage of tough shots.

The visiting team turned the tables in the second half as Besiktas, which was 9 of 13 from long range at one point, finished on 13 from 28 but Bahcesehir was unable to capitalize down the stretch as it was contained to a shambolic 3 of 17 from deep.

Morgan, who went the extra mile to make light of big man [Emanuel Terry](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/emanuel-terry/010652/)’s absence, acknowledged Besiktas came out with all guns blazing before being forced to weather the storm down the stretch.  

“We came out and played super hard, we brought the energy and effort,” said Morgan, who posted 17 points, 7 boards, 3 assists and 2 blocks. “Bahcesehir at times struggled to match that and it’s a big win for us moving forward.”

Besiktas head coach Dusan Alimpijevic was also pleased with the outcome. “\[Bahcesehir\] is a good team and we surely didn’t expect it to be easy,” the Serbian tactician said after seeing his outfit get sweet revenge for a crushing 87-66 loss in the reverse fixture.

“They are top of our group and that means something. All credit to my team, we played a pretty good game and it’s our third win in a row without the injured big man,” he emphasized.  

In Round 12, Besiktas visits Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv while Bahcesehir is at home to second-placed Dreamland Gran Canaria, in what should be a pair of rip-roaring clashes in the top half of the table.   

Conor Morgan, Kyle Allman and Derek Needham forced the brilliant Tai Odiase into submission 

Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul v Bahcesehir College Istanbul (2024-12-11T18:00:00.000Z)

U-BT Cluj-Napoca is back to a winning record and just a win away from the second place in Group B after a dramatic 89-86 win over the visiting Cosea JL Bourg en Bresse. The Romanian team, which has opened the season with a 0-3 record, has now won six of its last eight games, including four straight on home floor.

Cluj overcame absences, turnovers to keep charging

[U-BT Cluj-Napoca](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/u-bt-cluj-napoca/roster/clu/?season=2024-25) is back to a winning record and just one win away from second place in Group B after [a dramatic 89-86 win](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/cluj-edges-bourg-in-a-thriller-89-86/) over visiting [Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/teams/jl-bourg-en-bresse/roster/bou/?season=2024-25) on Wednesday. The Romanian champions, which opened the season with a 0-3 record, have now won six of their last eight games, including four straight at home.

It also did so despite some major absences.

Team leader and last season's All-EuroCup guard [Patrick Richard](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/patrick-richard/011801/) is missing in action since Round 5, and will be out long term with a broken forearm. Meanwhile, [Adam Mokoka](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/adam-mokoka/012698/) who has been averaging 12.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists of the bench, missed this game.

The problem turned out to be an extra motivation for Cluj.

"It's a really good \[victory\]," star guard [Zavier Simpson](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/zavier-simpson/013302/) said after the win. "We held it down for the guys on the sideline, Pat \[Patrick Richard\] and Adam \[Mokoka\] who are not able to join us on the court."

What's more, Cluj had 23 turnovers in this game, and with Cluj clinging to a 84-79 lead, [Karel Guzman](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/karel-guzman/011797/) fouled out with 1:45 to go as Bourg was threatening to come back.

<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">THIS SEQUENCE 😱😮<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MagicMoments?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MagicMoments</a> <a href="https://t.co/s1lSvoIIMq">pic.twitter.com/s1lSvoIIMq</a></p>&mdash; BKT EuroCup (@EuroCup) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroCup/status/1866924324105621567?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 

The visitors did rally and took the lead on a four-point play by [Xavier Castaneda](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/xavier-castaneda/013266/), just 37 seconds before the final buzzer, but the man responsible for committing that foul, [DJ Seeley](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/dennis-seeley/004862/), redeemed himself 15 seconds later. Seeley used all his calm and experience to knock down a corner three with 22 seconds to go, giving the hosts an 86-84 lead, which Cluj preserved.

"Being able to protect our home floor against a phenomenal team, it's good," Simpson added. "It's a team-effort win."

Simpson was a front and center of it, playing all but 87 seconds of this 40-minute contest, and scoring 27 points and dishing a club record 11 assists.

But alongside Simpson, there was big man [De'Shawn Stephens](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/de-shawn-stephens/006618/) who was 7-for-7 on two-pointers, scoring 7 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter. And there was Seeley, who also had 7 of his 14 points in the fourth.

All that helped Cluj overcome not only absences of key players on this night, but also 23 turnovers.

"I think it says a lot about our offense", Coach Mihai Silvasan explained after the game. "On 23 possessions we did not shoot the ball and we still scored 89 points."

"Hopefully we can use this win to keep us going with the same energy," Simpson concluded.

Indeed, that will be the goal for Cluj. Next week, in the final EuroCup game of this calendar year, the team will travel to face the unbeaten Valencia Basket, before trying to make a playoff push in the final six regular season games in January and early February.

The Romanian champs are back in business with their sixth win in the last eight games

U-BT Cluj-Napoca v Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse (2024-12-11T17:00:00.000Z)

7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys earned a well-deserved road win at Samokov Arena in Bulgaria by downing second-placed Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem by 87-93 on Wednesday night. 

Lietkabelis surprises Jerusalem in Bulgaria, 87-93

7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys earned a well-deserved road win at Samokov Arena in Bulgaria by downing second-placed Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem by 87-93 on Wednesday night. The visitors ruled 41-49 at halftime but had to wait till the last moments of the fourth quarter to secure the win thanks to a 4-10 run in which Martinas Rubstavicius scored 6 points. Jerusalem slipped to 7-4 and lost distance from first place, while Lietkabelis improved to 3-7 to stay alive in the playoff race.

Rubstavicius led the winners with 19 points in 22 minutes. Oleksandr Kovliar followed with career-high 18 points and 6 assists, Gabrielius Maldunas contributed 13 points, 7 boards and 5 steals, and Martynas Varnas and Vytenis Lipkevicius chipped in 11 and 10 respectively. Jared Harper was the game's top scorer with 24 points, Khadeen Carrington delivered 13 points and 7 rebounds, and Chris Johnson and Jeremy Morgan scored 13 apiece in the losing effort.

An erratic offense punished Jerusalem in the early going as Lietkabelis grabbed a 2-8 lead after 3 minutes. The visitors already had four different scorers, but the hosts stopped the game with a timeout and immediately found Morgan in the corner for a three that changed the trend. A three-point play by Carrington and an inside bucket by Derek Oegbide gave Jerusalem its first advantage of the night at 12-11. Maldunas came to the rescue, scoring 5 points in the blink of an eye to help the visitors recover the lead, 17-18, at the end of the first quarter.

Kovliar and Varnas joined Maldunas early in the second to extend it to 19-23, as Harper became the only one to produce in offense for Jerusalem at that moment. Even though Gabi Chachashvili showed up inside to improve the hosts scoring production, Kovliar kept rocking to swell the difference to 27-33 midway through the second period. Harper and Carrington managed to connect from downtown to give Jerusalem some rhythm, but Lietkabelis took advantage of the hosts' turnovers to hold on and keep ahead 38-42 entering the last minute of the quarter. A four-point play by Rubstavicius and a buzzer-beating triple by Lipkevicius made it even better for the Lithuanian side, 41-49, at halftime.

Johnson came up big after the break, as he opened fire with a three to start a 7-2 run that he also closed with an alley-oop, making it 49-51 early in the third quarter. Oegbide took over to make it all square twice and then turned the tables from the free throw line, 54-53. Lietkabelis didn’t panic, though, and used Briggs inside and Varlas outside to build a 54-60 advantage only a couple of minutes later. An 8-0 run launched by Chachashvili returned a 62-62 to the home team, starting a lead exchanging period that ended up in a 69-69 tie to enter the final stanza.

Yovel Zoosman and Lipkevicius swapped triples to keep it balanced, 74-74, right after the game resumed. Both teams increased intensity on defense, as the free-throw line turned into the only place where any team could score. With 3 minutes to go, Rubstavicius showed up from the corner and drew a foul that he converted into three points and punished again from long range with a three-point dagger soon after that turned on the alarm for the home side, 86-91, entering crunch time. Kovliar dug it deeper with a layup after two consecutive offensive rebounds, and even though Harper tried to reanimate his team in the last minute, he could only trim the difference to 87-93 at the end of the game.

It was the first road victory for Lietkabelis, which snapped a three-game losing streak

Besiktas Fidabanka Istanbul held on for a hard-earned 89-82 home win over Bahcesehir College Istanbul in the BKT EuroCup Group A, prevailing in a thrilling city derby on the back of a strong first-half performance.

Besiktas overpowers Bahcesehir 89-82 in Istanbul derby 

Besiktas Fidabanka Istanbul held on for a hard-earned 89-82 home win over Bahcesehir College Istanbul in the BKT EuroCup Group A, prevailing in a thrilling city derby on the back of a strong first-half performance.

The result means Besiktas continued its good form and improved to 7-4 after its fourth win in the last five games, having also snapped Bahcesehir’s seven-game winning streak as the visitors, who top the group, dropped to 9-2.

Conor Morgan paced Besiktas with 17 points and 7 boards, Kyle Allman scored 16 points and Derek Needham chipped in with 13 points and 5 assists. Yigit Aslan netted 11 points for the hosts and Kelan Martin added 10 to underline a smooth team effort.

At the other end, Tai Odiase poured a game-high 20 points to go with 8 boards, Alex Bouteille scored 15 and CJ Massinburg netted 13, but the trio lacked support from the rest of the cast.

Following an even start, Besiktas closed out the first quarter with a 10-0 run to take a 27-18 lead and carried the momentum into the second, carving out a whopping 49-29 advantage late in the first half thanks to great three-point shooting.

At that point, the home team had sunk 9 of its opening 13 shots from deep as its players shared the ball superbly on offense while closing shop at the other end.

The second half produced a more rugged and physical battle as Bahcesehir beefed up its defense and made a purposeful start to the third quarter, slashing the deficit to 72-69 ahead of the final 10 minutes as the home team’s long artillery dried up.

A 5-point possession from Dustin Sleva, who was subdued for much of the contest and finished on a mere 9 points, gave Besiktas some breathing space early in the fourth, 78-72, after the visiting team had closed the gap to just one point.

Bahcesehir refused to roll over and missed several chances to turn the tide before a clutch three from Needham followed by a mid-range jumper from Allman off the dribble gave Besiktas an 87-80 lead in the home straight, effectively sealing the contest.

The hosts held on in a tight finish to snap the visiting team’s seven-game winning streak

Wolves Vilnius's 19 three-pointers against Hapoel Tel Aviv were 1 short of the EuroCup record

Three-point blitz helped Wolves to big win

After losing two consecutive games to end the momentum of a previous five-game winning streak, the opening stages of Wednesday’s home meeting with [Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/hapoel-shlomo-tel-aviv/roster/hta/) suggested it would be another rough night for [Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/wolves-vilnius/roster/wol/?season=2024-25).

The visiting team’s offense was firing on all cylinders in the opening exchanges, as Hapoel scored 8 of its first 9 field goal attempts to hold a series of double-digit leads, with the highest difference reaching 13 points at 14-27.

Wolves, though, was shooting with incredible accuracy from long-range at the other end, keeping itself in the game by making 12 of its 19 three-point attempts in the first half – with multiple triples coming from the unstoppable [Anthony Cowan](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/anthony-cowan-jr/012003/), [Andrew Andrews](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/andrew-andrews/011248/) and [Tre’Shawn Thurman](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/tre-shawn-thurman/012577/).

Tre'Shawn Thurman made 5 threes against Hapoel

Thanks to those long bombs a breathless first half ended with Hapoel leading by just 2 points (56-58), but if the fans were hoping for a similarly high-scoring second half they would be disappointed. As Wolves coach [Alessandro Magro](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/wolves-twinsbet-vilnius/wol/magro-alessandro/?season=U2024) told Euroleague TV before the second half got underway: “I think we should start to play some defense. Games like this are very interesting for the fans, but not the coaches.”

Magro got his wish. Wolves seriously tightened up its defense after the break, playing with much more physicality to pull back Hapoel’s powerful offense from 58 first-half points to 42 in the third and fourth quarters.

Meanwhile, the home team shooters kept on shooting. Wolves drained another 7 triples in the second half to finish with 19 conversions on 36 attempts, with Cowan (5-of-8), Thurman (5-of-8) and Andrews (4-of-6) accounting for 14 of those. [Arnoldas Kulboka ](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/arnoldas-kulboka/006180/)also contributed with 3 triples on 6 attempts.

Those 19 three-pointers set a new club record in the BKT EuroCup and fell just one short of matching the competition’s all-time record, set by Valencia Basket earlier this season, LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in 2017-18 and UNICS Kazan in 2009-10.

Three-point shooting wasn’t the only factor in deciding the outcome, with the home team grabbing more rebounds than Hapoel (28 to 26), including 12 at the offensive end, committing fewer turnovers (13 to 15) and showing good accuracy from the foul line to make 21 of 26 free throws.

But it’s clear that Wolves’s long-range excellence was the most important reason for the triumph, as coach Magro admitted: “We were able to make some crazy, crazy shots, which was very important to stay in the game.”

And his opposite number [Dimitris Itoudis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/hapoel-shlomo-tel-aviv/hta/itoudis-dimitris/?season=U2024) agreed, ruefully noting: “They were very hot. We couldn’t manage to contain their drive and kick game, their isolation game. So they hit a lot of threes that we had to contain, but we didn’t.”

The Lithuanian team got back to winning ways after coming close to a competition record

Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius v Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv (2024-12-11T16:30:00.000Z)