By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Jonah Mathews scored 28 points, including the win-sealing free throws, and dished out five assists as Besiktas came back from down 21 to defeat Hapoel Tel Aviv 94 – 89 away from home in a single-game elimination match and advance to the EuroCup semifinals. The Turkish side will face JL Bourg en Bresse in the best-of-three semifinal series.
Matthew Mitchell added 22 points and six rebounds for a Besiktas team that opened the second half with a 1-14 run to approach 58 – 53 after trailing 47 – 26 late in the second period. Mathews capped this stretch with back-to-back triples.
Hapoel retained an advantage until the fourth quarter when Angel Delgado put Besiktas up for the first time in the game, scoring for the 81 – 82. Mitchell drained a key 3-pointer for the 88 – 92 with 3:42 remaining and both teams struggled to score the ball in the following minutes.
With the score 89 – 92 and nine seconds left, Mathews stole the ball and secured the victory for Besiktas with a pair from the line.
Will Cummings led Hapoel with 28 points plus five rebounds while Jaylen Hoard had 16 points. The Israeli side bids farewell to EuroCup after finishing the regular season with a 13-5 record, including wins in both games against Besiktas.