Euroleague - Bennet Cantu (Italy) 83 at Fenerbahce Ulker (Turkey) 85 OT

(Istanbul, Turkey - Ohio State Rookie David Lighty, 23, defends Turkish veteran Omer Onan, 34, in Euroleague Round 5 - 11.16.2011)

Euroleague - 11.16.2011 - Bennet Cantu (Italy) 83 at Fenerbahce Ulker (Turkey) 85 OT (Round 5)
- David Lighty: 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

Making Euroleague Noise -Serie A Club Bennet Cantu has been a surprise team in the first half of the Euroleague regular season. The Italian based team is making the most of their first stint in Europe's highest competition in 18 years by starting with a 3-1 record that includes wins over France's SLUC Nancy (10.19), Bilbao of Spain (11.3) and Greek power Olympiacos (11.9). They again threatened to capture yet another monumental victory in Euroleague round 5 vs the reigning Turkish League Champions, Fenerbahce.

Cantu traveled to Istanbul, Turkey to play Fenerbahce on November 16, just days after their 90-55 blowout of Air Avellino in Italy (November 13). They knew they would have to concoct a great all-around game to have a chance in the Sinan Erdem Arena, Fenerbahce's home floor. This is one of our favorite games of the 2011/2012 season so far..we had a Buckeye rookie in a big game atmosphere, and an underdog team on the road versus Champion squad! Cantu wasn't too bothered with Fenerbahce's hostile crowd in the opening minutes, they looked like the same confident team that rolled Avelino by winning the first quarter and taking a one point lead at halftime. The game remained even after 3 quarters until Fenerbachce made a championship run in the 4th, jumping to a seven point lead. Not deterred, Cantu battled back to force OT at 73, and it would only be two late free throws in overtime that would allow Fenerbahce to escape Cantu by a score 85-83. (Game Report)

Lighty in Istanbul! The primary reason why this was one of the more memorable games of the season is because Ohio State Rookie David Lighty got an opportunity to compete and be a factor in a big Euroleague game. David played well in limited minutes vs Avellino why may have earned him more time/opportunities in Turkey. Lighty logged 21 minutes vs Fenerbahce, the most in his early Euroleague career which resulted in Euroleague career highs in posts (9), rebounds (4), and assists (2).

Fenerbahce Ulker is a strong team that features rock solid European veterans like Roko Ukic, Omer Onan, Oguz Savas..also on the team are imports Bojan Bogdanovic (Croatia), James Gist (U.S.A), Curtis Jerrells, and Swiss Star Thabo Seflosha, current member of the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder. This is definitely a challenging environment for a rookie to be in, and we felt Lighty (pictured left: challenging Fener center Emir Preldzic) proved he belonged by contributing some nice buckets & rebounds to help Cantu stay with Fenerbahce. Our favorite play from Dave in this game was a sweet coast to coast layup in the 2 quarter, similar to the fast-break layups he had on Pesaro. Cantu next hosts Caserta (Italy) on November 20 before the return game with Nancy in France (Euroleague).