Tuesday recap: Murcia win seventh straight BCL game

MIES (Switzerland) - UCAM Murcia became on Tuesday the first team in this BCL season to win seven games in a row, after prevailing 90-81 over Promitheas Patras at home. Telekom Baskets Bonn also stayed unbeaten in the Round of 16, while Hapoel Holon and JDA Bourgogne Dijon won their first games in this phase.

Back on Gameday 1 of the Regular Season, Bertram Derthona Tortona handed UCAM Murcia a losing start to the 2023-24 BCL campaign. However, coach Sito Alonso and his team responded with authority, going on a five-game winning run to win their Regular Season group and advance straight to the Round of 16.

They tipped it off with another win, blowing by Hapoel Holon by 17 points last week, and on Tuesday they collected their seventh straight BCL win, and fifth straight Round of 16 home win (including last season's games in thi stage).

Murcia were actually one point away from writing a new page of BCL history - no team has ever won seven games in a row by double-digit differences - but Promitheas's late surge spoiled that milestone for UCAM.

Dylan Ennis and Marko Todorovic scored 20 points each for the winning side and three more players reached double digits for the hosts, while Promitheas had their usual suspects to lead the way - Hunter Hale with 29 points, Anthony Cowan with 20.

In the other Group L game, Hapoel Holon defeated AEK BETSSON BC 79-68. It was a defensive masterclass by Holon as they held AEK to 9  assists, while coming up with 10 steals and forcing the Queen to commit 15 turnovers.

CJ Harris picked up his ninth double-digit scoring game of the season, pouring in a team-high 19 points for Hapoel.

Justin Smith dunked his way to 17 points, while Netanel Artzi became an unsung hero with 16 points on 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc in the first half alone. Artzi had shot 4-of-21 from three-point range before this game.

Chasson Randle had 22 for AEK, but the Greek juggernauts are in trouble now. They started the season with five straight wins and now they are on a three-game losing streak in the BCL.

		GAMES				GAME POINTS					POINTS
#	Team	P	W	L	%	For	Agt	+/-	FA	AA
1	UCAM Murcia	2	2	0	100	168	142	26	84	71	4
2	Hapoel Holon	2	1	1	50.0	140	146	-6	70	73	3
3	Promitheas Patras	2	1	1	50.0	161	169	-8	80.5	84.5	3
4	AEK BETSSON BC	2	0	2	0	147	159	-12	73.5	79.5	2

In Group J, the defending champs Telekom Baskets Bonn are topping the standings after their 80-75 triumph in an all-German affair against MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg.

The fact that Bonn led by 19 and spent 36:59 of the game in the lead sounds incredible considering their abysmal shooting day.

While shooting 29-of-55 from the field is solid and 7-of-19 from beyond the arc is good enough for 37 percent, coach Roel Moors' players will probably spend the next couple of practice sessions at the charity stripe. Bonn made just 15 of their 28 free-throw attempts (54 percent), and yet somehow won the game without a lot of drama.

Thomas Kennedy led the way with 20 points and 9 rebounds, Noah Kirkwood finished with 17, while Brian Fobbs (12pts) and Harald Frey (9pts, 7ast) provided the spark off the bench.

Ludwigsburg live by the three and die by the three all season long. Shooting 5-of-26 from that distance, they were unable to punish Bonn's off free-throw night.

In the other Group J game, JDA Bourgogne Dijon made history against Galatasaray EKMAS. You can read all about it here.

		GAMES				GAME POINTS					POINTS
#	Team	P	W	L	%	For	Agt	+/-	FA	AA
1	Telekom Baskets Bonn	2	2	0	100	169	151	18	84.5	75.5	4
2	MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg	2	1	1	50.0	164	162	2	82	81	3
3	JDA Bourgogne Dijon	2	1	1	50.0	178	182	-4	89	91	3
4	Galatasaray EKMAS	2	0	2	0	169	185	-16	84.5	92.5	2