By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
In a very close Game 1 of the Basketball Champions League Play-Ins, Besiktas Icrypex managed to come out victorious on the road against Hapoel U-NET Holon after a thrilling finish with 73-72 on the scoreboard.
The duel went down to the wire with the lead switching sides many times but it all came down to the final minute and a couple of clutch plays on both sides.
Firstly, Kenan Sipahi banked in a triple and gave Besiktas a 70-69 lead with 43 seconds remaining. After a free-throw point for the Turks, Guy Pnini responded for Holon (72-71) with a triple of his own.
However, Isaiah Whitehead had the final say. He drove to the basket and found an off-balance layup in-between three of Holon’s defenders to set the final score.
Whitehead was doing the work before that moment as well, finishing with 21 points. Sipahi and Dedric Lawson scored 12 points each for a short-handed Besiktas which had nine players on the roster including a few youngsters.
For Hapoel, Rafael Menco scored 18 and Adam Smith 14 points. Menco also grabbed ten rebounds for a double-double.
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League