Galatasaray holds on for road win

At the end of a back-and-forth battle, Galatasaray Doga Sigorta Istanbul recorded its second road win in Group D by edging Arka Gdynia 78-83 in Poland on Wednesday. Galatasaray improved to 4-1 in the standings while Arka dropped to 3-2. Zach Auguste led the winners with 16 points, Tai Webster added 14, Greg Whittington 13 and Aaron Harrison and Lazeric Jones each scored 12 for Galatasaray. John Bostic led Arka with a club record 33 points and Leyton Hammonds added 12 for the hosts. Auguste had 10 points in the first quarter, getting help from Jones and Harrison to give Galatasaray a 16-27 lead after 10 minutes. Auguste kept pacing the visitors and a three-pointer by Goksenin Koksal gave his team a 28-41 margin at halftime. Galatasaray quickly boosted its margin to 30-47, but Bostic and Hammonds combined for 20 points in a 29-2 run that gave Arka a double-digit lead, 59-49, late in the third quarter. Webster and Whittington led a 0-13 Galatasaray run and the game was close until the final minutes; the visitors led 73-75 with over a minute left.

Jones hit a floater and fed Auguste for a layup to get Galatasaray going. Harrison hit a three-pointer and Auguste scored twice in the paint, prompting the hosts to call timeout at 2-11. Bostic struck from downtown, but Jones and Auguste fueled a 0-7 run that made it a double-digit game, 7-18. Bostic kept pushing Arka with a driving layup, but Koksal hit a catch-and-shoot triple and Auguste added a layup for an 8-23 Galatasaray margin. Three-pointers by Ben Emelogu and Bartlomiej Woloszyn - from beyond midcourt at the first-quarter buzzer - brought the hosts within 16-27 after 10 minutes. Emeloglu sank a floater early in the second quarter, but he didn't find much help around. Meanwhile, a dunk by Ege Arar and an unstoppable Auguste boosted the visitors' margin to 19-32. Webster and Bostic traded three-pointers and a big dunk by Auguste made it 22-37. Bostic kept trying to change things for Arka and a three-point play by Krzysztof Szubarga gave the hosts hope at 28-38. Koksal buried a triple to fix the halftime score at 28-41.

Harrison and Jones hit jumpers after the break and Koksal added a layup off a steal for a 30-47 Galatasaray lead. Bostic found a couple of easy layups, joining forces with Hammonds to give Arka hope at 39-49. The hosts kept running their offense through an unstoppable Bostic, who had 9 unanswered points, including two bombs from beyond the arc, to force Galatasaray to stop the game at 48-49. A dunk by Hammonds completed the hosts' comeback as the visitors kept struggling to score. Meanwhile, Armani Moore and a big three-pointer by Szubarga made it a double-digit game, 59-49, completing a 29-2 run. Webster answered from downtown for a 59-52 Galatasaray deficit after 30 minutes. Whittington hit a triple early in the fourth quarter and Webster followed a driving layup with a bomb from downtown for a 59-60 Galatasaray lead with 8 minutes left. Whittington scored again, but a four-point play by Bostic saw Arka regain the lead, 63-62. Harrison and Ben Moore rescued Galatasaray and a jump hook by Whittington made it a 3-point game. Hammonds swished a triple, but Whittington scored in the paint and Harrison struck from downtown after which Arka called timeout at 68-73. Woloszyn downed a three-pointer and Hammonds erased Whittington's dunk with a layup for a 73-75 score. Jones made the difference with a couple of driving baskets and free throws by Harrison allowed Galatasaray to claim a tough road win.

Pivotal performer

Greg Whittington scored 11 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, allowing Galatasaray to return to the game and eventually win it. He added 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 5 fouls drawn, finishing the game with a PIR of 14.

Game-changing moment

After an almost unprecedented 29-2 run, Arka led 59-49, but Tai Webster and Whittington joined forces to lead a 0-13 run and allow Galatasaray to regain the lead, 59-62. The visitors were able to stop Arka's huge momentum and regain the initiative in the game.

Stellar stat

Two-point shots and rebounds allowed Galatasaray to win the game. Galatasaray shot the ball much better inside the arc, hitting 22 of 34 shots (66.7%) and limiting Arka to 13-of-30 shooting (43.3%). It also outrebounded the Polish powerhouse 27-40. Ben Moore led all rebounders with 12 boards.

Did you notice?

Galatasaray recorded its fifth consecutive win on Polish soil, three of them in the top competition (against Zaglebie in 1986, Asseco Prokom in 2011 and Stelmet Zielona Gora in 2013) and two in the EuroCup (against Trefl Sopot in 2012 and now Arka). Its only loss in Poland was against Slask Wroclaw, 79-66, on November 15, 1972.

Next game

Both teams return to 7DAYS EuroCup action on Tuesday, November 5. Galatasaray hosts Dolomiti Energia Trento at 18:00 CET. Two hours later, Arka welcomes EWE Baskets Oldenburg.