Besiktas drops Galatasaray 90-84 in Turkish BSL

 Two Top 8 teams from the Turkish BSL locked horns to close out Round 22 of the regular season. Beskitas Sompo Japan Istanbul downed Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul, 90-84. The win was important for Besiktas to secure their third-place position in the league standings. They are now 17-5. A loss by Banvit Basketbol Kulubu over the weekend helped widen their gap. Banvit now trails Besiktas by two games after falling to 15-7. The loss dropped Galatasaray to 12-10 but their hold over the sixth position in the standings remains intact. A surging Royal Hali Gaziantep is closing in on Galatasaray. They climb to the seventh position with their 11-11 slate.

With the regular season winding down, an interesting situation worth keeping an eye on in the premier domestic Turkish league is the horse race for top seed between Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul and Anadolu Efes Istanbul. Both clubs sport identical 20-2 records and are head and shoulders ahead over the rest of the league. A slip up by either team will mean a significant advantage for the city rival.

Besiktas vs. Galatasaray 90-84

Besiktas won thanks to a considerable advantage getting their extra points at the free throw line. Besiktas made 25-of-30 shots from the stripe, compared to 13-of-17 by Galatasaray.

Beyond that, it was also about an admirable effort put forth by Besiktas’ Earl Clark and Michael Thompson, who posted 24 and 21 points, respectively. The duo torched Galatasaray from beyond the three-point arc. They combined for six of the team’s seven made shots from downtown. Their success from the outside helped open up the defense and clearing up the paint.

Sinan Guler paced Galatasaray with 20 points and seven boards.

Besiktas’ depth also played a role in the win. Their bench was able to keep up the aggression, while Galatasaray’s reserves struggled when they hit the floor.