Hardy helps Galatasaray snap winless streak

In a clash of former champions trying to climb up in the standings, Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul went on the road and made 13 three-pointers en route to its first win of the season, 81-91, over Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem on Wednesday. Both teams now hold a 1-4 record at the bottom of Group B standings. Galatasaray opened a big lead thanks to a 2-16 first-quarter run and never relinquished the advantage despite Jerusalem coming within 3 points in the second half. Dwight Hardy was unstoppable with 24 points on 5-for-8 three-point shooting for the winners. DaJuan Summers netted 19 points, Goksenin Koksal was a perfect 4-for-4 from downtown with 15 points, while Richard Hendrix pulled down 12 rebounds. Jerome Dyson finished as Jerusalem’s top scorer with 18 points. Richard Howell collected 14 points and 8 rebounds, Alen Omic also had 14 points, while Austine Day scored 11 against his former team in the losing effort.

The two teams traded close-range baskets early and often before a triple from Alex Renfroe gave Galatasaray an 8-9 lead. Summers and Scotty Hopson extended the margin, and after Omic made a three-point play for the hosts, back-to-back triples from the same spot by Summers and Hardy fueled a 2-16 run. Summers hit another three, Goksenin Koksal hit one from the corner, and Rakeem Christmas beat the buzzer with a fastbreak layup that made it 13-29 Galatasaray after 10 minutes. Hardy hit the visitors’ sixth triple early in the second quarter, but that was Galatasaray’s lone field goal in more than 4 minutes. Howell scored 6 points, and Tarence Kinsey nailed a three, cutting the difference to 24-32. A three-point play from Jerome Dyson and a four-point play from Yotam Halperin helped the hosts closed within 33-37, but Summers and Jordan Taylor made sure Galatasaray held a 40-48 edge at halftime.

After the break Howell quickly halved the deficit with a pair of baskets, but Summers kept Galatasaray in control by scoring 7 consecutive points and extending the margin to 46-58. Jerusalem stayed in the game with Stratos Perperoglou, Howell, Dyson and Kinsey combing to go 10 of 10 from the free throw line before Halperin’s runner cut it to 58-62. Yogev Ohayon and Hardy traded three-pointers to make it 61-67 after 30 minutes, and Perpeoglou and Hardy traded threes to open the fourth quarter. Koksal's third three-pointer and Hardy's fifth restored a double-digit lead, 68-78, with less than 7 minutes to play. Dyson, Daye and Howell kept Jerusalem's hope alive, but Richard Hendrix had a three-point play and Hardy nailed a jumper for the visitors. Howell's little hook-floater cut it to 78-83 with 3 minutes to play, but Renfroe drove to the basket and Galatasaray and went on to preserve the win.

In Round 6, Galatasaray goes on the road to face the group leader FC Bayern Munich, while Jerusalem hosts Lietkabelis Panevezys.