Guler's three-pointer keeps Besiktas undefeated

Besiktas Integral Forex stays undefeated stop the Group P standings by edging Cedevita Zagreb 69-71 in the Croatian capital on Wednesday. Besiktas now has a two-way gap over Cedevita, CAI Zaragoza and Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius, who are tied for second place at 1-2, and will qualify with its next win. Chris Lofton led the winners with 20 points. Tomislav Ruzic got 12, Ryan Broekhoff added 11 while Brad Buckman had 10 for Besiktas. Allan Ray had 17 points for Cedevita while Joshua Selby added 11. Three-pointers by Nolan Smith, Goran Suton and Tomislav Zubcic allowed Cedevita to get a 19-12 lead after 10 minutes. Broekhoff and Lofton brought Besiktas within 34-33 but Zubcic and Luka Babic restored a 44-37 Cedevita edge at the break. Lofton took over after halftime and got help from Buckman and Doron Perkins to give Besiktas a 52-53 lead after 30 minutes. It all came down to an exciting finish, as Ray gave Cedevita a 67-65 edge with over a minute left. Lofton downed a three-pointer and even when Ray scored again, Muratcan Guler hit the game-winning shot from downtown, 69-71, as Cedevita missed three shots in the final seconds.

Smith got Cedevita going with a three-pointer and Miro Bilan soon gave the hosts a 6-2 lead. Besiktas kept struggling to score until Perkins stepped up with a layup. Suton followed a triple with a layup to boost Cedevita's lead to 11-4. Buckman and Ruzic struck from downtown and a layup by Babic restored a 13-10 Cedevita edge. Selby shined with a three-point play, Tomislav Zubcic hit one from beyond the arc and a layup by Lofton fixed the score at 19-12 after 10 minutes. Selby kept pacing Cedevita with a layup that Buckman bettered with a triple. Ruzic made free throws, Ray struck from downtown and Selby gave the hosts a 26-17 lead. A layup by Jusuf Nurkic and free throws by Selby soon made it a double-digit game, 30-20. Lofton sank a triple but Selby and Bilan answered with back-to-back layups. Besiktas found a new go-to guy in Broekhoff, who had 6 points in a 0-10 run that brought the guests within 34-33. Zubcic and Babic stepped up for Cedevita to make the hosts get a seven-point margin, 44-37, at halftime.

Both teams struggled to score for more than 3 minutes until Smith hit a jumper. Buckman and Bilan traded layups and a jumper by Ruzic kept Besiktas within 48-41. A jumper by Lofton forced Cedevita to call timeout at 48-43. A red hot Lofton followed a triple with a jumper and Doron Perkins gave Besiktas its first lead of the game, 48-50. Zubcic dunked but Lofton quickly answered with a three-pointer. Free throws by Ray kept Cedevita within 52-53 after 30 minutes. Ray followed a jumper with a three-pointer to give Cedevita a 57-53 edge early in the fourth quarter. Ruzic answered from downtown and Broekhoff copied him right after that for a 58-59 Besiktas edge with 6 minutes left. Suton made free throws, Babic and Perkins exchanged layups and a dunk by Buckman gave the guests a 62-63 edge. Ray scored around the basket and bettererd Perkins's fast break layup with a triple for a 67-65 Cedevita edge with over a minute left. Lofton answered from downtown, Ray scored again but a three-pointer by Muratcan Guler gave Besiktas a 69-71 edge with 20 seconds left. Cedevita had a chance to tie the game but Nolan missed two shots and Marino Bazdaric could not score at the buzzer.