BCL Week 9 Recap – Jerusalem & Dijon punch ticket to Round of 16, UCAM end Tortona’s unbeaten streak
- → Tofas and Rytas book play-ins spot with blowout wins.
- → UCAM Murcia administer Tortona 1st defeat, take tiebreaker advantage.
- → Jerusalem and Dijon secure round of 16 tickets.
- → Oldenburg upset Karsiyaka with 12-point comeback.
- → Oostende and Galatasaray make things interesting with wins.
Tofas Bursa v Igokea m:tel 99-65 Recap & Highlights
Tofas Bursa scored a staggering 16 three-pointers, a team history high (per Opta) and a joint BCL season high, to beat Igokea m:tel and secure their spot in the play-ins..
The Turkish side excelled on fast breaks (26 points) and, led by Luke Maye’s 19 points and 7 rebounds, controlled the game for 39 minutes, reaching a maximum lead of 39 points and securing third place.
Catch the action with the Tofas Bursa v Igokea m:tel game highlights on Courtside 1891.
Promitheas Patras v JDA Dijon 68-71 Recap & Highlights
It was as close as it gets at the Dimitri Tofalos arena, where hosts Promitheas Patras lost an overtime affair to JDA Dijon, meaning the French side secured first place in Group B of the BCL.
A closely contested game, decided by Dijon’s resilience on the offensive boards, where they outperformed Promitheas 8-17, converted in 15 second-chance points.
Promitheas had a shot at winning the game, but De’Shawn Stephenson missed both free throws and his second chance shot with 6 seconds left, and the teams went to Overtime in Patras.
With the teams struggling to get to the basket, Ahmad Caver scored 4 of his 18 points in the last minute to secure the fifth win in as many games for JDA Dijon.
Relive the 18 lead changes in the Promitheas Patras v JDA Dijon game highlights on Courtside 1891.
BK Opava v Rytas Vilnius 75-95 Recap & Highlights
Rytas make it three in a row to get a crucial win in Group B, grabbing 2nd place ahead of their final rendezvous with Dijon at home.
The Lithuanians displayed their dominance, staying in the lead for 38 minutes and a record-breaking 31 (!!) offensive rebounds. No team in the BCL has ever grabbed as many, equally for their 30 second chance points. Martynas Echodas led the way with an 18-point, 13-rebound double-double.
Relive a record-breaking night in the Czech Republic with the BK Opava v Rytas Vilnius game highlights.
Filou Oostende – SIG Strasbourg 87-84 Recap & Highlights
Filou Oostende won a rare home game against their BCL nemesis SIG Strasbourg in the 10th episode of this classic Basketball Champions League rivalry.
Pierre-Antoine Gillet, the only remaining player from the Belgians last win against the Alsatians, contributed 13 points in the Overtime victory, as the recently re-signed Jean Salumu proved a worthy investment as he dropped 18 on the visitors.
Quinton Hooker scored 25 points to cut the home lead short and eventually tie the game, which headed to overtime in Belgium.
Khalil Ahmad, who missed a free throw in crunch time, scored 5 consecutive points in Overtime to give the Yellows the edge. However, Tyrus McGee had a chance to force a 2nd overtime: his triple fell short, and Filou Oostende will host Pinar Karsiyaka on Tuesday with a real chance of making it out of Group E.
Relive the overtime thriller at the COREtec Dôme with the Filou Oostende – SIG Strasbourg game highlights.
Hapoel Bank Jahav Jerusalem – PAOK mateco 71-61 Recap & Highlights
A strong, controlled performance at the Aleksandar Nikolić Hall allows Hapoel Jerusalem to punch a well-deserved ticket to the Round of 16 of the Basketball Champions League.
Dayton product Chris Johnson, coming off the bench, dropped 16 points on 5/7 shooting from the field and grabbed 7 rebounds in 16 minutes of action for the Israeli team, becoming the 10th all-time BCL scorer and rebounder (765 points, 299 rebounds).
Levi Randolph and Zach Hankins added 13, while Drew Harrison and Michael Gillmore provided 12 each for the visitors on a frustrating night in Belgrade. PAOK mateco only shot 37% from the field, allowing the Israeli to run away with the game during a 10-point third quarter.
Relive the action from the Aleksandar Nikolić Hall with the Hapoel Jerusalem v PAOK mateco highlights.
EWE Baskets Oldenburg v Pınar Karşıyaka 97-88 Recap & Highlights
Another impressive performance from BCL leading scorer DeWayne Russell fuels Oldenburg’s comeback against Pınar Karşıyaka.
Vernon Carey Jr. provided another dominant performance in a 58-point first half for the visitors, who looked poised to take the win as they headed back to Izmir. The big man scored 24 points in Pinar's road loss at the EWE Arena.
DeWayne Russel had other ideas: he compensated for his struggles from behind the ark with 10/23 from two-point range, completing a 20-point, 10-assist double-double, becoming the fourth-ever player to achieve such a feat multiple times in a single BCL season (per Opta).
Aided by Len Schoormann’s 18 points, Kenneth Ogbe and Lucas Wank’s 14, the home side rallied in the 2nd half, with a commanding 25-11 third quarter. Pedro Calles’ players finished the job in the fourth quarter, with 8 points by DeWayne Russell to secure the W.
Group E remains open, but EWE Baskets need Russell to keep his form to hope for play-ins as they visit Strasbourg in the final matchup of the BCL regular season, where anything could happen with a three-way tie at 2-3.
Relive the comeback at the EWE Arena with the EWE Baskets Oldenburg v Pınar Karşıyaka game highlights.
SL Benfica – Galatasaray EKMAS 63-87 Recap & Highlights
Galatasaray EKMAS enjoy Prepelic and McCormack’s BCL debuts with a comfortable road win at the Pavilhao Fidelidade. Zvezdan Mitrovic’s side go 2-3 and will travel to Patras for a chance of playing for 2nd place with a 12-point margin needed in order to overturn the result from the reverse fixture.
The Portuguese champions managed to stay close for most of the game, before a run from Galatasaray at the end of the 3rd quarter opened a 10-point lead (51-61).
Debutants McCormack and Prepelic scored 19 (8/10 from the field) and 17 points respectively, the former adding 10 rebounds for the double-double, to fuel an 18-0 run that saw the visitors establish a game-high 28 points.
That was all she wrote in Lisbon, as Ivan Almeida, Toney Douglas and Aaron Broussard struggled to get going (12 points between them). Benfica’s 2nd trip to the BCL ends early after a promising start.
Relive McCormack’s debut with the SL Benfica – Galatasaray EKMAS game highlights on Courtside 1891.
UCAM Murcia – Bertram Derthona Tortona 87-75 Recap & Highlights
Murcia secure a crucial win, ensuring tiebreaker advantage over Tortona ahead of the final week of BCL regular season as Dylan Ennis scores 14 in yet another home win for Sito Alonso’s team.
Without Anadolu-bound Mike Daum, Bertram Derthona Tortona couldn’t get things going offensively, and Amine Noua still seems to need some time to integrate in Coach Ramondino’s system.
In his debut for Tortona, the former Holon player scored 3 points in 15 minutes, attempting only one shot and accruing a –10 plus/minus for the Piedmontese
It was a controlling display for the home team, with an 11-0 run in the 2nd quarter to open a double-digit lead Tortona was never able to come back from, and leading for the remainder of the game. Troy Caupain, Sant-Roos, Radovic, and Sleva all reached double figures in Murcia’s 13th consecutive BCL win at the Palacio de Deportes.
Relive the Universitario's 13th consecutive home win in the BCL regular season with the UCAM Murcia - Bertram Derthona Tortona game highlights.
