It was not the Boxing Day that Bahamian professional basketball players Dwight Coleby and Zane Knowles wanted as their respective team lost in the Turkey Basketball League – the second highest tier of men’s basketball in Turkey.
Coleby dropped in 12 points in a close 84-80 road loss for his team against Samunspor at the Mustafa Dağıstanlı Sports Hall in Samsun, Turkey. The close loss dropped Coleby and Merkezefendi Belediyesi Denizli Basket to a 5-6 win/loss record on the season. They sit in the 13th position in the standings.
Knowles and his squad, Balikesir Büyükşehir Belediyespor, hosted the league leaders Akhisar Belediye Basketbol but fell 77-63. The game was played at the Kurtdereli Sports Hall in Balikesir, Turkey, and that loss dropped Balikesir to 7-5 on the season but they still rank in the top five in the standings at number four.
Coleby, the league’s leading rebounder, managed to pull down eight rebounds and shot 6-for-11 from the field in just over 27 minutes of play. On the defensive side, the center picked up two blocks.
Early in the first quarter, Coleby grabbed his first rebound – an offensive one, and was able to make a putback shot to score his first two points of the game. The home team went on a 9-0 scoring run before Coleby’s slam dunk ended that run with the third-ranked Smasunpor team up 9-6 with 4:55 remaining in the period.
At the end of the first period, Samsunspor led 17-14.
Coleby was scoreless in the second quarter but his team was able to use a 13-3 run in the final 4:15 of that second quarter to take a 43-38 lead at the half.
The former Western Kentucky University (WKU) player put his team up 47-42 on a made jump shot with 8:17 remaining in the third. The home team responded with a 12-0 run. Khalil Dukes’ shot put his team up 54-47 with six minutes left in the third quarter. Denizli battled back, and at the end of the quarter, Samsunspor led 63-62.
Denizli took a 76-73 lead with 4:15 remaining in the fourth quarter. However, the home team then went on a 10-5 run to go up 86-78 with 50 seconds left in the game. Coleby and his team cut into that deficit but it wouldn’t be enough. Coleby scored his final basket of the game on a dunk. That came with 30 seconds remaining in the game, and was the final points for Denizli.
Samsunspor shot the ball at a clip of 53 percent from the field and Coleby’s squad finished the game shooting 40 percent.
In the other game, Knowles finished with six points and three rebounds in the loss as he experienced 15 minutes of playing time on the floor. He finished the night shooting 2-for-7 from the field, 28.6 percent. He also finished 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.
The league leaders were a problem for Knowles’ team after they jumped out to a 25-11 dominant first-quarter advantage. This came after the visitors jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first four minutes of the game. Knowles ended that run when he connected on his two free throws with 6:04 remaining in the first quarter.
Balikesir fought back in the second quarter, but the quarter ended with both teams scoring 19 points apiece. Akhishar still led by 14 points heading into the half, 44-30.
It was a close second half but Balikesir could not cut into a 14-point deficit. The second half finished with an even 33-33 scoreline from both teams.
The visitors were able to connect on 13 three-pointers compared to Knowles’ squad which finished with eight made shots from deep. Akishar also moved the ball better as they ended the night with 23 assists compared to Balikesir’s 14 assists.
Knowles and Balikesir will head on the road to play Büyükşehir Hastanesi Konyaspor Basketbol at the Selçuklu Municipality Sports Hall in Konya, Turkey on Saturday, January 2, 2021. The game will get underway at 4 p.m. Turkey time, eight hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time (EST) here in The Bahamas.
Denizli will start a two-game home stand when they play their final game of the 2020 calendar year on Thursday. They welcome Bornova Belediyespor to Pamukkale University Sports Hall in Denizli, Turkey. Tip-off time is at 3 p.m. Turkey time.
The post Coleby, Knowles experience action in Turkey appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/coleby-knowles-experience-action-in-turkey/
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