BG Goettingen stormed back from 18 points down to set up a thrilling finish and take a crucial road win 82-84 at Aris BSA 2003 on Tuesday night in Thessaloniki, Greece. Mike Scott fueled the comeback with 14 fourth-quarter points and Louis Dale added 10 in the final quarter – including 6 free throws in the last minute. The game was a thriller after the Violets went on a 0-19 charge to take a 70-71 lead. The last minutes featured 4 ties and five lead changes before Goettingen was able to raise its arms in victory. The win gives head coach John Patrick’s men a 2-1 record in Group J, while Aris dropped to 1-2. The two teams meet again in Germany in two weeks. Scott finished with 18 to lead the Violets, Jason Boone added 16 points and 8 rebounds, Robert Kulawick scored 15 on 5-of-8 three-point shooting and Dale recorded 12 points and 10 assists. Kostas Charalampidis led Aris with 18 points, P.J. Tucker posted 17 points and 9 boards and Bobby Brown netted 16.

The game was close in the early going. Aris went inside to John Thomas and relied on forward Christos Tapoutos as the two scored all the hosts points in a 9-6 start. John Little and Boone fueled the guests as Goettingen knotted the score at 12-12. Free throws by Tucker and Charalampidis helped Aris jump ahead again and despite an Antoine Jordan basket, Brown’s first points gave Aris a 22-16 edge after 10 minutes. Jordan and Trent Meacham buried triples early in the second quarter to trim the gap to 24-22. Brown sandwiched a Michael Meeks three with a pair from downtown of his own to keep Aris in charge at 32-27. Kostas Sloukas found Dejan Borovnjak and Bryant Dunston inside to push the lead to 9. A Kulawick three could not slow Aris down and Brown gave the home team its first double-digit lead – 41-30 – with a strike from behind the arc. But another Kulawick three did inspire the visitors. Boone added another score, Kulawick drained another three and in a matter of less than two minutes the Violets reeled off 9 straight points. Tucker ensured a 43-39 Aris advantage at the break.

Aris looked to regain control at the start of the second half with Thomas throwing down a slam on the offensive glass and Brown dunking on the break. Goettingen did not back down with Boone inside and Dale cutting the lead to 47-44. Kulawick connected again from downtown to make it a 2-point game. Charalampidis heated up with 5 straight points and despite the best efforts of Christopher Tetzner, Sloukas buried a three to lift Aris to a 62-52 lead at the end of the third quarter. Sloukas drilled another triple and Charalampidis did the same as Aris climbed to 70-52 early in the fourth quarter and started to celebrate the win. That proved to be too early. Scott took over the game, starting with a three-pointer, then a jump shot, and then a steal, foul drawn and free throw. After another triple from Scott. Dale scored on consecutive possessions. The pressure was on Aris, which had no answers as both Slkoukas and Brown turned the ball over twice in the run and Tucker missed twice from the line. Kulawick’s fifth three-pointer of the night capped a 0-19 charge that put the Violets ahead 70-71. Brown finally woke up for Aris with 3 free throws on two possessions. Boone put Goettingen up 73-74 from the line and Tucker responded with a basket inside. Scott continued to rally the visitors, knotting the score with a free throw and putting his team up 75-77. Charalampidis knotted the game from the line, but the momentum remained with the Violets. Boone put Goettingen ahead from the line and after Brown misfired, Dale made 2 from the line to make it 77-80. Now a free throw contest began, with the visitors fouling Aris to not allow a three-point shot and Aris fouling Goettingen to stop the clock. Dale made 6 in a row in the final minute before fouling out. In the end, Charalampidis missed and Aris had a chance to tie it at the buzzer, but Tapoutos missed and Goettingen celebrated a major victory.