Besiktas snags road win at Neptunas

Besiktas Integral Forex Istanbul escaped from Klaipeda with a 62-69 victory over Neptunas to tie the two teams with 1-2 records in Group M. A 5-20 Besiktas run bridging halftime made the difference. Neptunas came back to tie it and came within 3 late, but the visitors kept their cool at the line to secure victory. JaJuan Johnson contributed to the success with 18 points and 8 rebounds, Chris loft on added 17 points and Kenan Bajramovic chipped in 11. Donatas Zavackas drilled 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting from long distance for Neptunas, Deividas Gailius scored 12 and Martynas Mazeika added 10 with 5 assists in defeat.

Neptunas led by a slim margin in the beginning, fueled by top scorer Gailius and late in the first quarter a jumper by Mindaugas Girdziunas made it 14-8. John Holland, with 5 seconds left in the first quarter, completed a three-point-play to get within 16-14. Girdziunas hit from three-point rangeand made it 21-14, but a 0-7 run to finish the half fueled by Engin Atsur and Kenan Bajramovic put the visitors ahead 23-26 at the intermission.

Johnson, from the foul line, capped an amazing 5-20 run that bridged halftime for a 26-34 Besiktas advantage at the midway point of the third quarter. Mazeika, Vytautas Sarakauskas and Justus Sinica fueled the home team’s furious come back to tie it at 39-39 before Bajramovic from the top of the key put again in front Besiktas on 39-41 through three quarters. Atsur hit from long distance to make it 45-53 for the guests with five minutes left in the game. Zavackas drew Neptunas within 50-53, exciting the crowd. Johnson kept Besiktas safe by scoring from mid-range and underneath for a 52-60 lead. In thrilling finale, the guests were perfect with Ryan Broekhoff and Lofton from the foul line to seal Besiktas’s win.