Jones, Green fire Bahcesehir past Reyer

Bahcesehir Kolelj Istanbul destroyed Umana Reyer Venice 108-74 to finish its 7DAYS EuroCup campaign on a high with its first home win in the competition. The first quarter was close with numerous lead changes, but Bahcesehir raced into a double-digit interval lead behind an unstoppable Jamal Jones. Bahcesehir maintained a fast offensive pace to pull further clear, effectively ending the game as a contest in the third quarter. Jones led the way with 26 points on 5-of-5 three-point shooting, while Erick Green added 21. Thomas Robinson had a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Erkan Yilmaz (13) and Ismet Akpinar (11) also scored in double figures. Isaac Fotu and Stefano Tonut both scored 21 points for Reyer, with Andrea De Nicolao scoring 12 and Julyan Stone adding 11. Both teams are already eliminated, as Bahcesehir finishes its EuroCup season at 2-8 while Reyer (2-7) has one more game remaining.

Robinson got the home side on the board, but Stone struck twice from long-range to give Reyer an early lead, 4-8. Akpinar scored 5 points straight to get Bahcesehir in front, before a fadeaway jumper from Green and 5 fast points from Jones kept the host ahead despite a pair of close-range scores from Fotu. Another basket from Fotu was accompanied by two baskets from Tonut, but another triple from Akpinar kept it close before Tonut beat the first-quarter buzzer on the fastbreak for a 19-21 lead. Yilmaz tied it up again, but Austin Daye responded for Reyer. Michael Bramos's floater was answered by a fierce dunk from Yilmaz, and Fotu's reverse kept it close before Jones threw down a big slam and added a three-pointer for a 33-27 lead. Thomas Akyazili added a three-point play but Tonut hit back with a trio of triples in the space of 2 minutes, making it 41-38. Jones and Stone traded triples and Jones kept adding points from the foul line before Green added another three-pointer and Robinson scored from close range just before halftime, which saw Bahcesehir lead 54-43. Akyazili opened the second half and Akpinar added a triple before Jones stayed red-hot with another three-pointer and a mid-range jumper. But Fotu scored twice for Reyer and De Nicolao added 5 more points to make it 66-55. The fast offensive pace continued through Green's four-point play and a putback from Josh Owens, and another triple from Green made it 75-55. Owens completed a 11-0 run with a brutal slam before Tonut ended the run from deep. The unstoppable Green added 5 more points and Yilmaz dunked for an 84-58 lead after three quarters. Yilmaz added a three-point play, and the lead was extended past 30 points by Peyton Aldridge and Robinson. Fotu rallied Reyer with 5 consecutive points, but three-pointers from Yilmaz and Aldridge kept the home team moving. Robinson took Bahcesehir to triple figures before the scoring slowed in the latter stages.

New records galore for Bahcesehir

Bahcesehir's offensive burst saw the Turkish team end its first EuroCup season by shattering various team records in the competition: 108 points, 30 assists, 44 rebounds, 15 three-pointers and team PIR of 150 were all new EuroCup club records.

Jones unstoppable before the break

Bahcesehir forward Jamal Jones had an amazing first half. He scored 21 points, making 2-of-2 two-pointers and all 4 three-point attempts along with 5-of-5 free throws. He added 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 blocked shot and 3 fouls drawn for a PIR of 30 before the break.

Reyer pays the penalty

One of Reyer's problems was an inability to get to the foul line. The Italian team did not attempt its first free throw until midway through the fourth quarter after a technical foul and finished with 5-of-8 free throws compared to the home side's 19-of-25.

Next round

Bahcesehir's EuroCup campaign is over, but already-eliminated Reyer has one more game, on Tuesday December 29 at home to Partizan NIS Belgrade.