Beşiktaş Cola Turka Men’s Basketball pulled out an 86-79 victory over Darüşşafaka Cooper Tires on the road in the Week 23 of the Beko Basketball League.

Thanks to a string of three-pointers by Cevher, the Black and White made a fine start into the game and jumped out to an early 11-3 lead after three minutes. However, Leunen would eventually knockdown back-to-back jumpers to cut the deficit to 1 at 11-10 midway through the first quarter. Then the game went back and forth, and the teams were locked in a 19-19 tie entering the final minute. A late spurt by the home team put Darüşşafaka ahead, 24-19, going into the second frame.

Darüşşafaka tightened its defense early in the second and put together a 6-0 run to extend the margin to 30-19 after two minutes. But Beşiktaş Cola Turka started hitting from outside and managed to regain the lead at 35-34 with 3:05 left. The remaining minutes saw the game turn into a seesaw affair with the lead changing hands several times; but the Black and White, nevertheless, was clinging to a slim 41-39 edge at the halftime.

Beşiktaş Cola Turka opened the second half with a 7-0 run to push its lead to 48-39 two minutes into the quarter. Then, while the host Darüşşafaka struggled to find its offensive rhythm, Mehmet stepped up to boost the Black and White’s advantage to 13 points at 55-42 with 5:00 remaining. Getting extra points from its bench, our boys in Black and White continued to punish Darüşşafaka’s lacklustre defense in the closing minutes, and a last-second three-pointer by Cevher gave them a 66-52 cushion by the end of the third quarter.

Beşiktaş Cola Turka carried its momentum into the final frame and scored consecutive fast-break points to go up, 77-60, with 6:00 remaining in the game. Soner and Hammonds tried to keep Darüşşafaka Cooper tries alive down the stretch, but the Black and White walked away with an 86-79 victory.