Demir’s near triple-double helps Rayos overcome Caballeros

Turkish slot man Alihan Demir delivered the goods in crunch time as Rayos de Hermosillo escaped the gritty Caballeros de Culiacan 80-77 in Wednesday’s CIBACOPA action at the Arena Sonora.

Demir flirted with a triple-double with 21 points, 19 rebounds, and eight assists to help Rayos improve to third in the standings with a 9-5 (win-loss) record.

However, the victory didn’t come easily for Rayos as they found themselves down 49-31 at halftime before cutting the deficit to 15 at the end of the third canto.

Inspired by the home fans, Rayos tightened its defensive screws and pulled off a massive comeback in the fourth, highlighted by a three-pointer from Demir with five minutes left to take a precarious lead.

Caballeros tried to pull off some resistance late, but Rayos managed to answer every basket with one of their own to secure the victory.

Forward Samuel Daniel top-scored for Caballeros with 18 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. With the gut-wrenching defeat, the Caballeros fell to 2-12 in the standings.