01 September, 2016
30 April, 2017
4 David Marty Mccray (GER)
30/11/2016
News
to read

MHP Riesen hand Besiktas first loss of Basketball Champions League season

LUDWIGSBURG (Basketball Champions League) - And then there were none. Besiktas Sompo Japan lost their perfect record to leave no more undefeated teams in the Basketball Champions League after suffering an 89-83 upset at the hands of MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg.

In front of a raucous crowd in Germany, Kelvin Martin attacked the rim for some spectacular plays on his way to 15 points and 9 rebounds, Chad Toppert scored all 15 of his points in the first half, and Jack Cooley also contributed 15 points, along with seven rebounds.

"It was a great win for us," said MHP guard Tekele Cotton after the game.

"I think the atmosphere was phenomenal, their fans came and supported them and our fans were phenomenal. We came out with a game plan, we had a couple of days to prepare for them, we knew they were a great team coming in and we went out there and fought, so it was a great win."

MHP were unable to get over the hump in the second half, tying the game up on multiple occasions as they remained within striking distance but could not take control.

That was until Cooley's basket with 5 minutes remaining to give MHP a 76-74 lead. And despite Besiktas tying it back up on the very next possession, MHP had found their groove, would pull away and hold on down the stretch.

A deflated Michael Roll of Besiktas felt let down by his side's defense in the second half.

"I thought we came out, played well in the first half," he said. "They had more points than we would have wanted but our offense was playing well and we just really needed to come out in the second half and play stronger defense.

"For us to only score 32 points in the second half and to give up 43 that's not like us at all. Our defense was weak at the end and we allowed them to play at their tempo."

Ludwigsburg climbed to 5-2, and are now in second place in Group E, while Besiktas, despite the loss, sit in first place at 6-1.