Ford leads Paris past Besiktas and into eighthfinals

In a battle to decide a spot in the eighthfinals, Paris-Levallois edged Besiktas Integral Forex Istanbul 71-77 on the road to finish second in Group M with 3-3 record. The result eliminated Besiktas, which dropped to 2-4. Sharrod Ford dominated with 35 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks for a performance index rating of 37 for Paris, which held Besiktas to just 9 points in the third quarter and took the lead for good through Ford on at 38-40 before going on a 5-12 run that bridge the third and fourth quarters. Blake Schilb added 11 points and two crucial three-pointers for the winners. Ryan Broekhoff scored 17 points for the home team, JaJuan Johnson added 16 with 9 boards and John Holland had 13 points.

The lead changed hands five times early in the game, but after Ford put the visitors in front on 11-12, Besiktas scored 6 points in a row for a 17-12 margin on a jumper by Holland. Mike Green made it 17-13 after 10 minutes. Schilb hit a three to tie at 19-19 early in the second quarter. Engin Atsur and Ryan Broekhoff tried to break the balance with 6 points in a row to make it 31-25, but the guests answered with a 0-9 charge highlighted by 5 points of Xavier Corosine to lead 31-34. Scott Reynolds, with 3 seconds left to the halftime buzzer, tied the game at 36-36 from beyond the arc.

The visitors went on a 2-11 run, highlighted by 6 points from Ford, to open the second half and take a 40-47 margin that they pushed to 45-54 on a three-pointer posted by Nicolas Lang with 8 seconds to the last break. Michele Jean-Baptiste Adolphe capped a 12-5 run that went into the fourth quarter for a double digit margin, 47-59, with eight minutes left in the game. Broekhoff made back-to-back baskets from three-point range as Besiktas soared to within 58-59, but Ford and Green pushed Paris back out to 60-67. Two baskets from downtown posted Schilb rejected Besiktas’s late comeback attempt led by Reynolds and Holland as Ford completed an outstanding performance and sealed the victory and qualification with a layup.