Galatasaray leaves it late to beat Brescia

Galatasaray Istanbul used a strong finish to complete its second-half rally and down visiting Germani Brescia Leonessa 84-76 at Sinan Erdem Dome on Tuesday night. Brescia led by double digits in the third quarter and still held a lead midway through the fourth, but that is when Galatasaray went on a 17-4 run to secure the victory. Goksenin Koksal netted 21 points to lead Galatasaray, which improved to 2-1 on the season in Group A. Aaron Harrison added 14 points and Nigel Hayes tallied 12 points and 11 rebounds for the winners. Brescia remains winless after three games despite 18 points from Jordan Hamilton.

Galatasaray needed less than four minutes to open a 14-4 lead behind triples from Hayes, Tai Webster and Harrison. Brescia scored the next 7 points before tying it at 19-19 on a tough jumper by Hamilton. Galatasaray led 24-21 after 10 minutes, but the visitors' Bryon Allen scored the first 7 points of the second quarter to give Brescia its first lead of the night. The hosts stroke right back with Koksal hitting his second triple, but Brescia remained close and Hamilton scored a last-second basket to give the visitors 40-44 halftime lead. Triples from Luca Vitali and Hamilton helped open 42-52 at the start of the third and the visitors remained in front, however, Harrison and Marko Arapovic got Galatasaray going and Koksal and Can Korkmaz hit from long range for the hosts to regain the lead, 61-59. Allen hit back-to-back threes to end the third quarter and give Brescia a 62-65 edge and his fastbreak basket made it 67-70. But Hayes had a put-back that restored the hosts' lead before Webster and Harrison hit back-to-back from downtown during a 17-4 spurt that secured the Galatasaray win.

Pivotal performer

Koksal scored 21 points on 4-for-9 from three-point range, but it was Nigel Hayes who played the key role in victory. Hayes finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists. He stepped up down the stretch with a triple and and 3 put-back baskets, all late in the fourth quarter to help turn a 70-71 deficit into an 81-72 lead.

Carrying the load

Brescia got a great effort from its trio of Jordan Hamilton (18 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds), Bryon Allen (17 points) and Awudu Abass (17 points and 9 rebounds), but it was not enough to snatch a win in Istanbul.

Game-changing moment

Brescia went up 67-70 on a fastbreak basket by Allen, but Korkmaz made a layup and Hayes's added a put-back dunk to make it 71-70. On the next trip down the floor, Webster made a three while falling down, followed by a Harrison triple to make it 77-72. Brescia called a timeout, but it could not stop the hosts' momentum.

Hidden stat

Galatasaray had 16 offensive rebounds, but 5 of them came during the key 14-2 fourth-quarter run. Brescia finished with 12 offensive boards, but 3 of those came in the final two minutes, when the game was all but decided.

Next game

In Round 4 next Wednesday, both teams will play at home. Galatasaray hosts EuroCup newcomer AS Monaco, while Brescia will welcomes the challenge of group leader Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade.