Boatright breaks Bonn's heart with winner in dying seconds
BONN (Basketball Champions League) - Ryan Boatright knocked down a high arching elbow jumper with 3 seconds left to give Besiktas Sompo Japan a 74-73 come-from-behind victory over Telekom Baskets Bonn.
👏⚪️⚫️@Ryanboatright11 for the WIN! 👏⚪️⚫️#BasketballCL@BJK_Basketbol pic.twitter.com/aVl7k4Vpac
— #BasketballCL (@BasketballCL) November 15, 2017
Having trailed by as many as 14 following a disastrous third quarter, Besiktas stormed back into the game in the fourth quarter, finishing the game on a 9-0 run to seal their fifth straight victory.
Kyle Weems and Augusto Lima led the visitors with 14 points each, Jon Diebler had 11 points and 7 assists, with Boatright adding 11 and 8 rebounds.
"They (Bonn) played very well, they played very tough in front of their good crowd, they'll definitely win some more games," complimented Weems after the game.
"I'm happy with this win. It wasn't our best game, we made a lot of mistakes, but when you get a road win it's very important."
He also took time to pay tribute to the fans, having played his rookie season with Telekom Baskets:
"Me personally, I want to thank the fans here for my warm time here. It was a blessing being able to play here and welcome me to the European game and giving me this opportunity, and welcoming back for the second time, so thank you to them."
Nemanja Durisic had 15 points and 9 rebounds to lead Bonn, with Josh Mayo having 14 points and 7 assists.
Besiktas improved to 5-1 in Group D, Bonn fell to 1-5.
Both teams were on fire from beyond the perimeter to open the game; Besiktas opened the game 4-of-6 from three point range, whilst Bonn 5-of-6, but it was Besiktas who got the better of the early exchanges, leading 30-23 after one.
Diebler kncked down his second trey to give Besiktas their first double digit lead, 23-33, with 8:57 left in second and it was all one way traffic in the first half, as Besiktas were up 44-41 at halftime.
The tides turned quickly in the third. Bonn opened the half on a dominant 19-2 run, 8 of which came from Mayo, as Bonn had a commanding 63-52 lead heading into the final period.
A 9-2 run early in the fourth led by Sipaphi and Weems saw Besiktas get right back into the game, setting up the dramatic finish.
