2019-20Regular SeasonRound 8
November 19, 2019 CET: 18:00
Local time: 20:00 SINAN ERDEM SPORTS HALL.

Galatasaray comes back for big win over Unicaja

Galatasaray Doga Sigorta Istanbul took a major step towards the Top 16 with a 91-80 come-from-behind victory at home over Unicaja Malaga. Galatasaray did not allow a single basket in the third quarter in improving to 5-3 in Group D. Greg Whittington scored 18 points to lead five Galatasaray scorers in double figures. Aaron Harrison collected 16 points, Lazeric Jones had 13, Tai Webster added 11 points and 5 assists and Ege Arar chipped in 10 points for Galatasaray, which will qualify for the next phase if Buducnost VOLI Podgorica beats Asseco Arka Gdynia on Wednesday. Unicaja, which came into the game having already secured a spot in the Top 16, fell to 6-2. Adam Waczynski matched his career-high with 17 points - 15 of them in the fourth quarter - while Josh Adams had 16 points.

In a matchup of former EuroCup champions, Galatasaray had the better start with Jones picking up a three-pointer and Ben Moore scoring 4 points for a 9-5 lead. But the hosts were held scoreless for 5 minutes while Axel Toupane and Adams combined for 11 points in an 0-17 run to put Unicaja up 9-22. Galatasaray managed to stop the rut, but trailed 12-24 after 10 minutes. After Jaime Fernandez’s score upped the lead to 12-26 to start the second quarter, Galatasaray trimmed the deficit to 18-28. Unicaja punched back with a 2-8 surge in making it 22-38. Arar came up with three baskets and a block to spark a 12-0 run, including a pair of Yigit Arslan triples to pull Galatasaray within 34-38. The score was 34-39 at the break. Galatasaray came out of the locker room playing tough defense and allowed just 2 free throws, while Arar and Arslan continued their good games and Harrison finally scored his first points on a three-pointer in an 11-2 run for a 45-41 lead halfway through the third quarter. Harrison and Whittington both nailed three-pointers as the hosts tallied 12 straight points and the lead swelled to 57-43. One more long ball from both Whittington and Harrison had Galatasaray up 67-47 after 30 minutes with Unicaja not hitting a single basket - just 8 free throws in the quarter. Moore’s basket to start the final frame increased the lead to 22 points, but Unicaja raced back thanks to the three-point shot. Fernandez’s three-pointer was followed by 3 straight triples from Waczynski, who also added 3 free throws for 12 points within 1:35 minutes. An Aleksa Avramovic tally trimmed the deficit to 75-68 with 5 minutes left. Harrison nailed a big triple to get the gap to 81-70 only to see Waczynski add more free throws at the other end. But Jones answered with two baskets to help the hosts hold on.

Tough D on Unicaja’s big guns

Axel Toupane came into the game as Unicaja’s top scorer at 13.0 points per game, but he was held to 9 points on 3-of-11 shooting. Deon Thompson, who had averaged 11.0 points, tallied just 6 points on 2-of-4 shooting.

Pivotal performer

Aaron Harrison did not score in the first half but finished with 16 points. Still, the Galatasaray guard was there for his team the whole game, finishing with 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steals and 1 block.

Telling numbers

Galatasaray made 79.4 percent of its two-point shots in the game and 10 of 12 free throws (83.3%). The hosts also committed only 12 turnovers - including just 5 after the first quarter. The hosts also held Unicaja to just 45.5% shooting from two-point range.

Next games

Unicaja will host EWE Baskets Oldenburg on Tuesday, December 10. The following evening, Galatasaray will be in Montenegro to face Buducnost VOLI Podgorica.

Aaron Harrison - Galatasaray Doga Sirgorta Istanbul (photo Galatasaray - Ali Kemertas) - EC19
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Eurocupbasketball.com
Referees: MANTYLA, PETRI; PANTHER, ANNE; LAURINAVICIUS, JURGIS
Attendance: 4826
By Quarter1234
Galatasaray Doga Sigorta Istanbul12223324
Unicaja Malaga2415833
End of Quarter1234
Galatasaray Doga Sigorta Istanbul12346791
Unicaja Malaga24394780
Galatasaray Doga Sigorta Istanbul
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 WEBSTER, TAI 17:00 11 4/5   3/4   2 2 5   2     3 3 14
1 WHITTINGTON, GREG 27:31 18 5/5 2/4 2/2   5 5 1 2 1 1   1 2 25
2 HARRISON, AARON 30:05 16   4/10 4/4 1 4 5 4 1 2 1   3 2 18
7 ARSLAN, YIGIT 24:57 8 1/2 2/3         5 1 1     4   7
8 KORKMAZ, CAN 7:41 2 1/1 0/1             2         -1
10 JONES, LAZERIC 25:17 13 5/6 1/4     1 1 6   2     4 3 13
11 ARAR, EGE 16:43 10 5/6     1 3 4 1 1   1   2 3 17
12 ERDENIZ, CANER DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
22 OLMAZ, AYBERK DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
26 MOORE, BEN 14:34 6 3/4     1   1           2   4
30 AUGUSTE, ZACH 21:12 5 2/2   1/2   2 2   2 1     2 1 6
61 KOKSAL, GOKSENIN 15:00 2 1/3 0/1         3   1   1 3   -3
Team           2   2     2          
Totals 200:00 91 27/34 9/23 10/12 5 17 22 25 7 14 3 1 24 14 100
        79.4% 39.1% 83.3%
Head coach: ERDOGAN, ERTUGRUL
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Unicaja Malaga
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
2 THOMPSON, DEON 21:02 6 2/3 0/1 2/2 1 2 3 2   2     1 2 8
3 FERNANDEZ, JAIME 16:47 8 1/4 1/2 3/4   1 1 1   1   1 2 3 4
4 AVRAMOVIC, ALEKSA 7:57 2 1/1 0/2         1             1
6 TOUPANE, AXEL 22:19 9 3/9 0/2 3/4 1 1 2 2   1   1   4 6
9 DIAZ, ALBERTO 17:31 3 0/1 1/1         3 1 2   1 3 1 1
14 ADAMS, JOSH 25:34 16 2/3 2/7 6/8 1 1 2 1 2 3     3 4 11
15 ELEGAR, FRANK 22:07 6 2/4   2/2 4 2 6 1 1 2 1     2 13
21 WACZYNSKI, ADAM 21:15 17 0/2 3/5 8/8   1 1   1       1 4 18
22 EJIM, MELVIN 14:53 6 2/3   2/2 1 3 4 2 2       3 1 11
32 GUERRERO, RUBEN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
43 SUAREZ, CARLOS 12:47 4 1/1   2/2 1   1 1 1 2       1 6
52 GERUN, VOLODYMYR 17:48 3 1/2   1/2 2   2     1     1 2 3
Team           2 4 6     3         3
Totals 200:00 80 15/33 7/20 29/34 13 15 28 14 8 17 1 3 14 24 85
        45.5% 35% 85.3%
Head coach: CASIMIRO, LUIS

Head Coaches

ERDOGAN, ERTUGRUL
Galatasaray Doga Sigorta Istanbul
"This is our team: a lot of ups and downs. We played a really good second half, except for the last 4 minutes. There was a lot of energy here today. Our fans gave us a lot of energy, so thanks to them. It’s a huge win for us."
CASIMIRO, LUIS
Unicaja Malaga
"We played the first 15 minutes of the game perfectly - defense, rebounds, spacing on offense. It was very different for us when we went to the locker room for halftime up only 5 points. The third quarter we played very bad. We played bad on offense; we forced bad shots. This was perfect for Galatasaray to run and get easy points on offense."

Players

WHITTINGTON, GREG
Galatasaray Doga Sigorta Istanbul
"[Coach] told me to just come out [in the second half] and keep my smile, have fun and do all the things I know I can do to help the team. We came out and played "[Coach] told me to just come out [in the second half] and keep my smile, have fun and do all the things I know I can do to help the team. We came out and played defense and didn't give them easy scores and we got on a run."defense and didn't give them easy scores and we got on a run."
JONES, LAZERIC
Galatasaray Doga Sigorta Istanbul
"We played terrible defense with low energy in the first half. After the locker room meeting, we had to give our best and intensify the game. We did that and had a crazy third quarter, a quarter I’ve never experienced before. We have to ride this momentum and play the same way next week."
EJIM, MELVIN
Unicaja Malaga
"They’re a good team. They played well. We started off the game playing well. They withstood it and had a great third quarter and kind of opened it up. We were trying to catch up after that, but we knew it was going to be a tough game on the road. We just have to take care of business and solidify first place by winning the rest of our games."
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