Beşiktaş Cola Turka Men’s Basketball Team suffers a heartbreaking 79-77 loss to visiting Oyak Renault on Day 3 of the Beko Basketball League.

After Evren Büker drove in for a layup to open the scoring for Oyak Renault, Beşiktaş Cola Turka responded with Mario Austin’s bucket and went on to take a 7-2 lead behind consecutive baskets by Muratcan Güler and Austin. The visitors from Bursa City tried to trim the deficit with Joseph Jones’s 18-foot jump shot but could not find a way to contain the hot-shooting Black and White and trailed 11-4 at the halfway mark. Oyak Renault finally ended its scoring drought with Gregory Stiemsa’s short jumper, only to see Mire Chatman and Adem Ören make back-to-back layups and extend the home team’s advantage to 16-6, entering the final four minutes. Nevertheless, the visitors refused to go away and pulled within 19-12 on Evren Büker’s free-throws with 3:05 showing on the clock. The Black and White answered right back with a slam dunk by Marcus Faison; but Ahmet Erdoğan’s clutch three sparked a late Oyak Renault rally that brought the visitors back to four at 21-17 in the dying minutes. The teams fought real hard to gain the upper hand during the remaining seconds but; Beşiktaş Cola Turka managed to hold onto a three-point, 25-22, edge at the end of the opening quarter.
                          
The Black and White had trouble finding its offensive rhythm early in the second and began to fire blanks under pressure; as Alex Gordon stepped up and reeled off 5 straight points -- including 3-pointer from downtown-- to put Bursa City representatives ahead, 27-25, two minutes into the quarter.  But Mire Chatman restored Beşiktaş Cola Turka’s lead at 28-27 with a 3-pointer of his own. Then, the teams kept exchanging baskets on both ends and were locked at a 30-30 tie with 7:30 left in the first half. Neither team managed to stamp its authority for the next couple of minutes, as the score remained tied at 34-34 midway through the quarter. As the quarter progressed, the visitors looked more committed to attack and jumped back in front on a 20-foot jumper by Gregory Stiemsma with just under 3:00 left. Alper Saruhan followed it up with a tip in to make it 39-34 for Oyak Renault, entering final minutes. The visitors dominated rest of the quarter and carried a 49-42 cushion going into the locker room at the half.
Both teams started the second half with their bench players, and Beşiktaş Cola Turka got 3 quick points from Adem Ören early in the quarter to cut the deficit to 4 points. The visitors from Bursa retaliated with Evren Büker’s layup; but the Black and Whites stormed back and buried a couple of jumpers to crawl within 51-49 two minutes into the third. Beşiktaş Cola Turka went on to seal its defense and reclaim the lead at 52-51 with Chatman’s 3-pointer behind the top of the key. Then, Austin knifed through for a layup and extended Beşiktaş Cola Turka’s advantage to 3 points at 54-51. However, Oyak Renault managed to regroup quickly and rallied back with back-to-back buckets to remain within striking distance. The teams entered the final three minutes locked at a 57-57 tie. Spurred on by non-stop fans cheering, the Black and White put together a 7-0 run down the stretch and built a 64-57 lead after three quarters of play.
After Evren Büker nailed a short jumper to start the final frame, Beşiktaş Cola Turka answered it with Mario Austin’s layup and went on the stretch the margin to 68-59 early on.
But Oyak Renault roared back to life and inched within 5 at 68-53 on consecutive points by Stiemsma and Jones. Regaining its lost momentum, the Bursa city side tightened its defense and narrowed the margin to a single point at 68-67 on a fast-break basket with 6:45 left in the game. Nevertheless, the Black and White clung to a 71-67 edge midway through the fourth quarter. Then the game turned into a real thriller; as Gregory Stiemsma and Alper Saruhan teamed up to give Beşiktaş Cola Turka a one-point, 72- 71 lead with 3:15 remaining. From that point onwards, the visitors began making their presence felt, as they widened the gap to 3 points on a jumper by Alex Gordon. With 2:45 left to play, the Black and White made two free-throws and pulled within 74-72; but Oyak Renault came back with a pair of free-throws of its own that make it 76-72 and kept the Bursa team’s margin intact. While Beşiktaş Cola Turka was desperately trying to get back into the game, Alper Saruhan came around a screen and drilled a big 3-pointer to put Oyak Renault up by 79-72, entering the electrifying final two minutes. Nevertheless, our Guys in Black and White managed to bounce back and trailed only 79-77 with just over 1:00 left in regulation time. But when Austin’s last attempt hit the rim and went out of bounds, the visiting Oyak Renault walked away with a hotly-contested 79-77 victory.