Pinar Karsiyaka stunned Hapoel Jerusalem 86-84 on a Bonzie Colson game winning 3-pointer to snatch the victory from the jaws of defeat in a scorching season opening Champions League matchup.

💥💥 BCL STANDS FOR BONZIE COLSON LEAGUE!!!!!!! 💥💥#BasketballCL I @KSKBasket @Bcolson_35 pic.twitter.com/uKdIERSwWB

— Basketball Champions League (@BasketballCL) October 5, 2021

Both squads thrilled the fans for the entire 40 minutes but Jerusalem faltered at the free throw line late setting up Colson’s heroics from the top of the arc to grab the win. Karsiyaka’s victory spoiled Anthony Bennett’s brilliant debut that saw the 2013 NBA Draft #1 overall selection carry the Reds throughout the first half with 18 of his 22 points which included a late corner triple but it proved to not be enough as the Reds fell to 0-1 in continental play.

Bennett led Jerusalem with 22 points and 8 rebounds, Sean Kilpatrick added 16 points and 6 assists while chipped in with 12 points in the defeat. Colson scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for a double-double, James Blackmon score 19 points and Amath M’Baye added 13 points in the win.

“It was devastating the way it ended and we had a chance to win the game and we threw it away,” a distraught Jerusalem coach Oren Amiel said following the game. “There is a lot to learn from this. If you can’t take these upsets then you are in the wrong business. The most important thing is to win and we didn’t do that tonight.”

Bennett also reflected on the defeat, “We fought and messed up some plays defensively near the end and that cost us the win. It’s still early in the season and we wanted to win and there are things we can take away. We fought from beginning to end and we need to clean up some things.”

The game’s MVP Bonzie Colson was all smiles post game, “Got to give credit to Jerusalem who played hard and challenged us on both sides of the floor. We fought to the last second and we showed the determination. We just stayed to together whatever the score was and stay locked in. Many of us have been in these types of situations, we have some great leaders, great coaches and a great staff to put us in that positron. This is a great win for us but it’s still early.”

Jerusalem got off to a quick start as Anthony Bennett and Sean Kilpatrick each went from downtown while Retin Obasohan and Sean Kilpatrick both scored acrobatic layups to give the hosts a 11-8 lead midway through the first quarter. Thon Maker put down a dunk but Bonzie Colson, Tony Taylor, James Blackmon and Michael Roll got on a roll to give Karsiyaka a 22-19 lead after ten minutes.

Bennett scored a pair of baskets and a triple as Akil Mitchell and Yunus Sonsirma answered for the visitors, but Amit Gershon nailed a corner 3-pointer to put Oren Amiel’s team in front 31-30 with 6:16 left in the second quarter. Kilpatrick went from deep, but so did Blackmon and Roll for Ufuk Sarica’s squad, however, Bennett scored a pair of triples, Kaiser Gates got on the board from beyond the arc as well to help Jerusalem to a slim 1-point, 45-44 lead at halftime.

M’Baye began the third quarter with a 3-pointer while Colson and Mitchell added buckets until Gates, Kilpatrick and Jalen Adams broke the run with triples to stay in the lead 54-53 midway through the frame. Colson scored a pair down low, Blackmon dialled up long distance but and Adams 3-pointer and Adam Ariel free throws sent the game into the final frame all knotted up at 62-62.

M’Baye and Blackmon scored while Kilpatrick answered for Karsiyaka who snagged the 71-69 advantage with 5:11 left in the fourth quarter. Taylor knocked down a 3, Bennett drilled a deep one from the corner while Gates hit one as well to give Jerusalem a 78-76 lead with 2:06 remaining in regulation. Gershon went from deep, Colson scored at the other end, Segev put down a dunk but Roll hit a pair of free throws keep his team close, down 84-83 with just 8 seconds left.

Taylor’s foul put Jerusalem’s Gates on the line but the forward missed a pair of crucial free throws as Colson grabbed the rebound, took the ball down court and stepped up to score the game winning 3-pointer over Segev’s outstretched arms to snag the 2-point win.