MoraBanc outlasts Galatasaray after OT

MoraBanc Andorra survived a heart-breaking buzzer-beater at the end of regulation and pulled out a 95-87 overtime win over visiting Galatasaray Istanbul on Wednesday night. MoraBanc won its third home game and improved to 3-3, while Galatasaray dropped to 2-4, however it did win the tiebreaker against MoraBanc, which could come into play if the teams finish the regular season with identical records. Moussa Diagne finished as MoraBanc's top scorer with a career-high 20 points and 8 rebounds, while Andrew Albicy had 18 points and 4 steals in victory. Nigel Hayes led Galatasaray with 20 points and Aaron Harrison had 19 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists and 2 blocks in defeat.

Dylan Ennis got MoraBanc going early, and Albicy hit a transition triple to make it 12-5. While Harrison and Hayes hit from long range for the hosts, a long jumper from Michele Vitali and a three-pointer from David Jelinek opened a 23-12 lead. Marko Arapovic hit from downtown to cut the deficit to 26-19 after 10 minutes. At the start of the second quarter, Ege Arar scored inside and Harrison hit another triple to help cut the deficit to 33-32. But Vitali hit a three and John Shurna scored from close range to give Andorra a 46-37 halftime lead. Galatasaray opened the third quarter much better, with Hayes converting a three-point play before Tai Webster and Jaka Klobucar each knocked down a triple. Webster's runner-plus-foul tied it at 51-51 midway through the quarter. Ennis and Shayne Whittington made sure the hosts took a 59-58 lead into the fourth quarter. A triple from Hayes helped the visitors finally take their first lead early in the fourth, 61-62, but MoraBanc restored its lead with Albicy hitting from outside and Diagne inside. Shurna had a put-back and a tough jumper to make it 77-71 with 2 minutes to go, but Hayes answered with a triple from the corner to cut it to 77-74. The score remained unchanged and on Galatasaray's final trip down the floor, and Harrison stepped on the foul line with 1.7 seconds to go. He made the first and purposely missed the second free throw. Webster got to the rebound and banked in a tough shot at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime. Harrison opened the extra session with a triple, but then fouled out. Diagne helped Andorra get back in front before Jelinek nailed a triple to make it 89-82 with 2:05 to go, and there was no coming back for the visitors.

Memorable buzzer-beater

It looked as though Andorra had done enough to win the game in regulation, but with 1.7 seconds to go and the score 77-75, Aaron Harrison purposely missed his second free throw, which set up Tai Webster to get to the rebound and bank in a near-impossible shot at the buzzer that sent the game into overtime. It was the second overtime game of the season for Galatasaray and its second overtime road-loss.

Game-changing sequence

Galatasaray opened the extra session with a three-pointer by Aaron Harrison, but MoraBanc answered and held Galatasaray to a single field goal for the next three minutes. MoraBanc used a 14-2 run to take control. It was the largest run of the entire game for either team.

Movers and shakers

Apart from Diagne and Albicy, Andorra had three more scorers in double figures. David Jelinek netted 17 points, Dylan Ennis collected 12 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, and John Shurna scored 11. Galatasaray got massive efforts from Hayes and Harrison, while Webster finished with 18 points. Jaka Klobucar added 10 points in defeat.

Did you notice?

In addition to the game going into overtime, it also had a 25-minute break between the first and second quarters due to a problem at the scorers' desk. It all led to the game lasting 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Next game

In Round 7, both teams will play on Wednesday. Galatasaray will host ratiopharm Ulm in a must-win game, while MoraBanc will travel to Germani Brescia Leonessa.