Besiktas holds off late Rytas rally for key road win

Besiktas Integral Forex gave up most of an 18-point fourth-quarter lead, but held on for a 101-103 road win at Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius. The hosts finished the game on a 19-3 tear and had a chance to tie it at the buzzer, but Zab Dowdell’s jumper missed. The road win in the Group P opener put Besiktas in prime position in the group. Chris Lofton shot 5 of 10 from downtown to lead Besiktas with 23 points. Brad Buckman added 20 points, Sundiata Gaines scored 18 points to go with 7 assists, Muratcan Guler scored 11 and Colton Iverson 10 for the victors. Marty Gecevicius paced Rytas with 24 points, Dowdell netted 20, Juan Palacios and Renaldas Seibutis scored 17 each, Darius Songaila had 14 and Omar Cook dished 10 assists in defeat.

Besiktas took charge from the start with a Buckman three. His basket-plus-foul made it 6-12 midway through the quarter. Songaila drew Rytas within 2, however Lofton scored 5 points in a 0-9 run that boosted Besiktas’s control to 12-24. A Doron Perkins steal and layup extended the lead to 14 before a Dowdell free throw made it 18-31 after 10 minutes. Dowdell further trimmed the gap early in the second quarter. A Gecevicius triple made it 35-41. Another Buckman three kept Besiktas in control, but Gecevicius converted a 4-point play before a Perkins layup made it 46-53 at halftime. Rytas started the second half in style and rallied to tie the score at 55-55 on a Gecevicius three. Besiktas responded with back-to-back threes by Gaines and Lofton to regain control. Gaines and Lofton each connected from behind the arc again to make it 59-71. A Gaines jumper put Besiktas up 67-81 at the end of the quarter. Lofton hit 2 more threes early in the fourth before Perkins fed Iverson inside to make it 75-91. Gaines took the visitors to the 100-point mark and increased the lead to 18. Seibutis scored 7 in an 11-0 run to bring Rytas within 7 with two minutes to go. Seibutis free throws made it a 4-point game with 53 seconds left. Palacios and Dowdell twice made it a 2-point game. The first time Tomislav countered with 2 free throws; the second time he missed 2 free throws. Rytas had a chance to tie it, but Dowdell’s jumper missed at the buzzer.