Gran Canaria uses shooting display to crush Galatasaray

Herbalife Gran Canaria recorded one of the best long-range shooting displays in club history in routing Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul 86-108 on Tuesday at Sinan Erdem Dome. D.J. Seeley led six Gran Canaria scorers in double figures with 19 points as the visitors led from tip to buzzer to improve to 2-1 in Group E. The loss kept Galatasaray winless in the Top 16. Six players made at least 2 three-pointers for the visitors, who combined to make 14 of 21 shots from downtown in setting a club record for three-point accuracy at 66.7%. Ondrej Balvin posted 15 points and 8 rebounds, Marcus Eriksson added 15 points, Pablo Aguilar scored 12 and Gal Mekel and Xavi Rabaseda each had 10. Mekel also dished 6 assists. DeJuan Summers led the Galatasaray attack with 21 points, Dwight Hardy scored 16 and Scotty Hopson and Jordan Taylor had 12 each. Galatasaray was without injured big men Emir Preldzic and Richard Hendrix.

Gran Canaria started strong by scoring the game’s first two baskets and surging ahead 2-7, but Summers scored twice to keep Galatasaray in the game. Eriksson and Oriol Pauli sandwiched triples around another by Summers. Eriksson’s second triple made it 12-20 midway through the opening quarter. Rabaseda continued the Gran Canaria shooting spree with a three-pointer, but Hopson and Taylor brought the hosts within 24-28 after 10 minutes. Hopson got Galatasaray as close as 2, but Seeley and Nicolas Brussino combined for all their team’s points in a 2-10 run that gave Gran Canaria a double-digit lead. Soon Aguilar became the fifth Gran Canaria man to connect from downtown as the margin grew to 32-43. The lead reached 15 on three occasions, the last on Pauli’s three-pointer on the buzzer to make it 42-57 at halftime.

Galatasaray looked to shoot its way back as Yagmur, Hardy and Taylor all hit threes in the first three minutes of the second half, but Gran Canaria countered with baskets from close range, so the margin was only trimmed to 51-63. Hardy and Yagmur each made another three to get the hosts within 61-71. Ege Arar stepped up with 5 points in the final minute to the third quarter to make it 74-80. Henry Walker committed an off-the-ball unsportsmanlike foul on Rabaseda on the first possession of the fourth quarter and the momentum shifted back to Gran Canaria, which rebuilt its double-digit lead. A three by Rabaseda and layup by Anzejs Paseniks put the visitors firmly in control. Galatasaray was held without a basket for the first five minutes of the fourth quarter during which it was outscored 1-17, with Balvin dominating for Gran Canaria. Mekel took the visitors’ score in triple figures with a three-pointer that made it 77-100. The margin peaked at 79-104 on Rabaeda’s third three of the night as Gran Canaria cruised to a convincing win.