Kepez Municipality edged past the visiting Beşiktaş Cola Turka Men’s Basketball, 77-71, in Week 24 of the Turkish Basketball League.

Sparked by a couple of steals from Mazutis, Kepez Belediyespor got off to a hot start and jumped out to an 11-4 lead after three minutes. Playing tenacious defense, the red and white host tried to pull away with layups by Jovo and Ersin Görkem, but Haluk Yıldırım and Cevher Özer combined their efforts to keep Beşiktaş in the game. Nevertheless, Kepez was sitting on a 14-point, 27-13, cushion after one.
Following a stretch during which both teams kept throwing bricks, Kepez Belediyespor got back-to-back buckets from Jovo, Ersin and Marcus and stamped its authority in the second the quarter. The short-handed Black and Whites used the scoring of Baxter and Haluk Yıldırım to narrow the gap but trailed by eleven, 42-31, at the break.
Jovo, Mazutis and Bariş each hit jumpers to start the second half while Beşiktaş Cola Turka, due to a series of unforced turnovers, struggled to get its offense going. The Black Eagles relied on outside shots by Kerem, Cevher and Newley to remain in striking distance but were behind, 57-48, heading into the final stanza.
The onset of the fourth quarter saw Beşiktaş Cola Turka come alive with consecutive layups by Baxter and Newley to pull within five points at 57-52 after just two minutes. However, from that point on, Ersin Görkem would step out for the home team and knock down his outside shots to push the lead back to eleven, 64-53, with 6:10 remaining on the clock.
But the Black and Whites refused to give up and rallied to pull ahead, 67-66, entering the final two minutes of the game, their first lead in the game. The dying seconds were full of tension as the game turned into a free throw contest between the two sides. However, Ersin Görkem would make no mistake at the free-throw line and lifted the Kepez Municipality to a 77-71 victory.