Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul rockets into Last 32

Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul defeated AEK Athens 73-86 in the Greek Capital to claim a ticket to the Last 32. Galatasaray improved to 6-1 in Group F and is closing in on clinching first place; it now has a two-victory lead over the next two teams, AEK and Neptunas Klaipeda, at 4-3. The visitors never trailed after taking an initial 0-9 lead, although AEK did rally to within 2 in the third quarter. A 10-0 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters restored a comfortable advantage as Galatasaray marched to victory. Errick McCollum paced the winners with 24 points, including 9 free throws without a miss. Vladimir Micov added 18 points, Blake Schilb scored 12 and Joey Dorsey tallied 10 points and 9 rebounds. Loukas Mavrokefalidis starred again for AEK with 26 points and 11 rebounds and Malik Hairston scored 20 in defeat.

Galatasaray took charge from the opening tip. Safak Edge put back Stephane Lamse’s miss before Schilb nailed a three-pointer. Baskets from Lasme and Edge completed a 0-9 start. Mavrokefalidis got AEK on the scoreboard with free throws and Hairston scored the hosts first basket midway through the opening quarter to make it 4-11. But with Dorsey controlling the defensive glass, Schilb scored twice more to extend the lead to 13. After Marc Carter’s first basket for AEK, Micov’s triple made it 6-20. Mavrokefalidis scored the next 4 points and after a McCollum triple, Hairston added the final 5 of the quarter to trim the deficit to 15-23 after 10 minutes. Dorsey’s three-point play on the offensive glass and Micov’s three extended the difference to 14, but Mavrokefalidis and Carter responded with back-to-back threes. The teams traded shots, but more threes by Mavrokefalidis and Carter allowed AEK to close the gap to 29-37 midway through the quarter. Milan Milosevic made it a 6-point game with a tip-in, but Lasme and McCollum came to Galatasaray’s rescue. After a Milosevic three-pointer and later a free throw, McCollum’s foul shots ended the half with the visitors up 37-46.

Micov and Caleb Green restored a double-digit lead for Galatasaray, but Hairston scored 4 points in a 6-0 spurt to narrow the gap to 7. He remained hot with a three-point play before assisting Dusan Sakota on a triple to shrink the deficit to 51-55 midway through the quarter. Hairson continued to pepper the nets and his next three-pointer made it a 2-point game. Free throws by McCollum and Micov gave Galatasaray a 58-63 lead through three quarters. McCollum drew a foul shooting a three and made the resulting free throws before Micov’s basket re-established a 10-point lead. Huseyin Koksal’s three-pointer made it 59-71. Both offenses stalled , but time began to waste away for AEK. Even though Mavrokefalidis brought AEK back within 8, Micov and Green put the game on ice with time to spare.