Neptunas turn on the style in home victory over Besiktas
KLAIPEDA (Basketball Champions League) - Neptunas Klaipeda entered the win column in the Basketball Champions League with a 78-63 triumph over Besiktas on Wednesday night.
Losers in overtime on Gameday 1 at Virtus Bologna, Neptunas returned to the friendly confines in Lithuania and led for almost the entire game, going in front by as many as 20 points.
.@BC_Neptunas get into the win column after their solid victory at home vs @BJK_Basketbol! #BasketballCL
— Basketball Champions League (@BasketballCL) October 17, 2018
📊 https://t.co/jlbOHfztU1 pic.twitter.com/1N3NWWEgyQ
Besiktas, 78-70 winners in their opener at medi Bayreuth, tried to feed their 2.05m (6ft 9in) center Ivan Buva early and often but they struggled to find any rhythm on offense. When the contest was over, Dusko Ivanovic's team had 15 turnovers and shot just 37.7 (23 of 61) from the field, including 5 of 24 (20.8 percent) from the arc.
A member of the Team of the Week after Gameday 1, Robin Benzing of Besiktas was shut out until midway through the fourth quarter when he had a 4-point play.
Buva finished with 18 points, Erkan Veyseloglu 14 and Phil Pressey 11 in defeat. Pressey did wreak havoc with his defense. He had 4 steals and helped the team trim the 20-point deficit to just 8 with 1:17 remaining. o called timeout and then returned to the floor to seal the win.
For Neptunas, Kyle Weaver had a game-high 21 points and Jerai Grant had 13 points and 9 rebounds. The hosts did a lot of their damage at the free-throw line, making 20 of 27 (74.1 percent).
Besiktas were 12 of 16 (75 percent). The home side also won the rebounding battle, 40-29.