Regular Season finished...18-12

Reading the defense

Good evening!  We finished our regular season with a great record of 18-12.  We had our last game of the season vs Karsiyaka on Saturday.  We also had a make up game down in Antalya on Tuesday.  Thus ending our season with an 18-12 record.  In the Karsiyaka game we ended up winning 81-64.  It was a great win for our club.   I finished the game with 14 points (3-4 2fg, 2-6 3fg, 2-2 ft), 10 assists, and 1 rebound.  We followed that up with a win down in Antalya 103-73.  I ended with 10 points (1-4 2fg, 1-4 3fg, 5-6 ft), 14 assists, and 1 rebound.

It was an unbelievable year for our team.  I am extremely proud of how our team played and competed every night we stepped on the floor.  Now it is time for playoffs.  We are the 7th seed and will be playing Efes who is the 2nd seed.  Playoffs start May 18th.  First round of playoffs series is best of 3 (need to win 2 games).  Really excited and looking forward to the opportunity to play!  Thats all from Turkey for now.  Have a wonderful day!  God Bless.. Isaiah 60:19-20 

16-13

Good afternoon!  It is an absolutely beautiful day here in Ankara.  We have had 2 games since I last posted.  We have been on the road 5 days and then I spent another night in Istanbul after the game.  Haven't been around my computer at all.  Two weeks ago we played on the road in Mersin and came away with a 94-91 win.  I had 16 points (5-8 2fg, 2-5 3fg), 9 assists, and 1 rebound.  That put our record to 16-12.  Then we flew directly to Istanbul after the game on Wednesday because we played Besiktas on Saturday.

Pick n roll

The Besiktas game was crazy.  We lost in double overtime 110-105.  Both teams were battling!  There were buzzer beaters, clutch shots, and intensity throughout the entire game.  I ended up playing 48 minutes that game and was exhausted afterwards.  I had a nice double double with 20 points (5-7 2fg, 2-6 3fg, 4-6 ft), 16 assists, and 5 rebounds.  That put our record at 16-13 with one game to play in the regular season.  Our next game is at home vs Karsiyaka on Saturday.  It will be the last game before playoffs start.  We have 7th place locked up no matter what, so we will be the 7th seed in playoffs playing the number 2 seed.

Hope everyone is doing well back home!  It is unbelievable that within a month I will be back home and have finished my 4th professional season.  Time sure flies by when your having fun!  Take care and God Bless!  Isaiah 33:22

3 in a row

Bring the ball up

Happy Sunday everyone!  Since I last blogged we have had 2 games.  One on the road vs Erdimer and the other at home last night vs Turk Telekom.  We one both games extending our winning streak to 3.  The game vs Erdimer came down to the wire.  Our team pulled out a win 84-82.  I ended the game with 15 points (3-5 2fg, 3-4 3fg, 0-2 ft), 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.  That put our record to 14-12 heading into last nights game vs Turk Telekom.

Last night we came away with a 84-77 win.  We were in control most of the game leading by as many as 20.  However Turk Telekom fought back hard in the 4th quarter and made it a 7 point game at the end.  I had 15 points (1-5 2fg, 3-4 3fg, 4-7 ft), 9 assists, and 1 rebound.  After that game we have won 3 in a row and our record is 15-12.  We have 3 games left of the season and then playoffs start.  Our last 3 games of the year are: 1. Mersin on the road.  2. Beskitas on the road.  3. Karsiyaka at home for the last game of the year.  Looking forward to finishing the season strong and head into playoffs with a good mind set.

Driving, And 1

I have to give a couple S/O (shoutouts) on my blog this time.  First, to my sister Bryn for her 2 wins with her AAU team down in Chicago this weekend.  This is the first tourney of the year for them and they are off to a hot start.  Also, I wanted to thank her for presenting my tile to the Wall of Inspiration down in AL this past week.  Thank you Bryn you are an amazing sister and I love following your career both academically and athletically!  My other S/O goes to my wifey... She is dominating her photography business here in Ankara, Turkey!  She is working her tail off and I can see her continuing to get better and better as a photographer (check out her awesome website amandamosaic.com).. GO AJ!!  Have a blessed Sunday everyone! God Bless.. Proverbs 28:6 & Proverbs 28:20

Attacking the big

13-12

Driving & he was arguing there was no foul haha! 

Good afternoon from Ankara, Turkey!  We have had 2 games since I last posted.  Our game vs Efes two weeks ago I did not play in.  I had an injury to my foot that kept me out of the line up.   We ended up losing that game.  Our next game was last Saturday vs Olin at home.  I suited up and play in that game.  We came away with a 89-85 win.  It was a great win for us to give us some breathing room from the 8th place team.  We are currently in 7th place and two games ahead of the 8th place spot.  Last game I had 13 points (4-7 2fg, 1-3 3fg, 2-2 ft), 9 assists, and 1 rebound.  Our next game is on Saturday vs. Erdemir on the road.  We will have to be ready to compete and play hard.  Looking forward to playing again.

We have 5 games left of the season and then playoffs.  It is crazy how fast the season is going.  AJ is busy with photography.  She has a photoshoot every weekend until we leave.  Her clientele is growing significantly, and I am extremely proud of her.  She will be in Fargo this summer, if you are around the area and need a photographer contact her at amandamosaic.com.  I hope you all have a blessed and amazing Wednesday!  God Bless.. Proverbs 10:4 

Great win

Surveying the court

Good morning from Turkey!  Quick update on our game last Saturday vs Aliaga.  We won a very important and exciting game 80-76.  The win was huge for us and it ended our 2 game losing streak.  Our record stands at 12-11 and still in 7th place.  We really moved the ball well and played as a team, which led to four guys in double figures.  I had my first double double of the year with 14 points (1-5 2fg, 1-3 3fg, 9-12 ft), 10 assists, and 7 rebounds.  Our next game is on Sunday vs Efes.  Efes is a very solid team and it will be a tough game for us.  They are currently tied for 3rd in the league.  I am looking forward to heading up to Istanbul this weekend.

Floater

It is crazy that we only have 6 games of the regular season left.  Time sure flies by when your having fun :)!  Go check out my wife's blog update on her website www.amandamosaic.com.  She has a new amazing photoshoot that she posted.  She has been getting a lot of notoriety here in Turkey and has photoshoots every weekend here until we leave.  If you are looking for a photographer for the summer months back home I highly suggest you contact her.  Have a great day!  Ciao... God Bless! Psalm 100:3-4

Two game skid

Drive and kick

Good morning everyone!  I wanted to fill you in on our last couple games.  We have dropped 2 straight games now.  First we lost to Galatasaray who was in 3rd place at the time 86-94.  For 3 1/2 quarters we played solid ball.  We just couldn't pull out a win at the end.  That game I had 14 points (1-5 2fg, 4-5 3fg) 8 assists, and 3 rebounds.  The following week we played on the road vs Antalya and lost 93-100. We played terrible defensively and could not manage to get any defensive stops when we needed to.  Letting a team score 100 points is unacceptable.  I had 17 points (4-8 2fg, 2-5 3fg, 3-6 ft) 9 assists, and 4 rebounds.  Hopefully we can get back on track for our game tomorrow vs Aliaga.  Our record stands at 11-11 still in 7th place.  Looking forward to playing again this Saturday.

Baseline drive

How is everyones NCAA bracket going?  It feels like I say this every year after the first round but my bracket is finished already!  This is definitely one of the best times of the year.  Watching basketball all day long!  Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the tourney!  God Bless.. Psalm 73:25-27

Big Win

Good afternoon everyone!  Sorry for not keeping you in the loop as much as I would like.  I have had the pleasure of having my mom and sister over here visiting this past week.  It has been amazing getting the chance to see them again and show them the country of Turkey.  We have been showing them all around Ankara, taking them out to eat, and enjoying quality time together.  My wife and have I been blessed to see her parents, my parents, and sister this year.

On the basketball side of things we had a game last week vs Hacettepe.  We came away with a 92-85 win.  It was a hard fought game by both teams.  This win puts our record at 11-9 and in 7th place alone.  In this game I had 17 points (3-4 2fg, 3-4 3fg, 2-2 ft), 9 assists, and 3 rebounds.  Our next game is tomorrow, which my mom and sister will be able to watch.  We are hosting Galatasaray out of Istanbul.  They are currently in 3rd place in the league.  It will be a tough game for us but we are looking forward to it.

On some other news my wife has done numerous photo shoots here in Turkey.  If you want to check them out go to amandamosaic.com.  If you are in the Fargo area this summer and are looking for a photographer my wife is definitely someone you should contact.  As I stated before my mom and sister are over here so I am going get off this computer and spend more time with them!  Oh yeah and good luck to the NDSU Mens Bball squad as they compete in the Summit League tourney starting Sunday.  NCAA bound??!!  Have a blessed and wonderful Friday!  Psalm 33:11-12 

10-9

Hey everyone!  We have played a couple games since I last updated the blog.  Our game last weekend we played down in Gaziantep and won in OT.  The score was 86-79.  After that game our record stood at 10-8.  This afternoon we had a game verse the #1 team in the league Banvit.  We lost today 76-81.  It was a hard fought game for us.  Today I ended with 11 points (2-5 2fg, 0-2 3fg, 7-7ft), 6 assists, and 2 rebounds.  Throughout the entire game it was close.  The biggest lead that either team had was 8 points.  Hopefully we can come back in get a win next Saturday.  Our record stands at 10-9 and in 7th place alone.  I hope that you all have a wonderful Sunday and stay blessed!  God Bless... Joshua 1:9

Tough game

Big Block :)

Good afternoon!  Did you all watch the Super-bowl?  I bet there are a number of you that like to watch the commercials, halftime show and thats it!  HAHA.  I wanted to fill you in on some news here in Turkey.  First off my wife and I are safe from the bombing.  If you didn't know there was a suicide bomber at the US Embassy here in Ankara.  It is pretty eery being in the same city where a bombing has happened.  You hear about them on the news all the time. But when it happens in the city where you live you have quite a different feeling.  We are safe and still smiling!

Defense

In our game last night we lost to the #1 team in the league 74-92.  You have to give Fenerbache credit, they are a very talented team.  However, I think we were very soft and didn't play tough at all as a team.  Our team defense was terrible and needs much improvement.  I ended with 8 points (4-6 2fg, 0-2 3fg), 9 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal.  Our next game is on Wednesday in the first round of the Turkish Cup.  There are 8 teams that qualified for the Turkish Cup in the beginning of the year.  Basically, it is 3 games, if you win you keep playing if you lose you go home.  Our first opponent is Besiktas who we lost to earlier in the year at home.  It will be a tough game for us.  Hopefully we can come out with a better attitude and have a tough defensive mindset.

Lay-up w/ contact

AJ is continuing to evolve her photography skills.  People have been contacting her here in Turkey to do a variety of different shoots.  It is an exciting time for her and I am happy for her.  I am going to state this again.. if you need an outstanding photographer this summer you need to contact my wife at her website amandamosic.com.  I hope everyone was safe and had a wonderful Super-bowl.  We are going over to a teammates house for dinner and to watch the replay of the game.  Have an amazing Monday!  Make it a great day!  God Bless.. 1 John 3:2-3 

Lay-up w/ contact Pt. 2

9-7

Hello everyone!  How are you all doing?  I have been a bit absent from the blog for awhile so I wanted to fill you in on what's been going on here in Ankara, Turkey.  First of all my wife and I had the opportunity to head home for a few days.  It was nice being back in the US and relaxing for a little bit.  We were at our half way point of the season and we got a week off.  It was a nice little break to get the body healthy again and more importantly get mentally recharged.  We have been back in Ankara for a few weeks again.

On the basketball side of things we had a game vs. Karsiyaka (away) awhile ago and got destroyed 66-87.  It was a terrible game for us both defensively and offensively.  We were not executing on offense and we were not playing team defense at all.  I had 4 points (0-2 2fg, 1-2 3fg, 1-2 ft), 2 assists, and 1 rebound.  It was a very frustrating game.

Our next game we played was on the road again vs Tofas.  We had beat them previously in the year but they were only 2 games behind us in the standings.  It was a big game for us and we came out with a 93-80 win.  We played so much better than our previous game.  On offense we were clicking and we were getting stops on defense.  It was nice to see the team turn it around and play much better.  I had 10 points (2-4 2fg, 0-1 3fg, 6-6 ft), 6 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal.  Our record now stands at 9-7 and 7th place in the league.  Our next game is on Sun. vs the number 1 team in our league Fenerbache.  We play them at home so it should be an exciting game.

Thats about it from a basketball standpoint.  I high suggest you check out my wife's website amandamosic.com.  She is doing an outstanding job with her new website/bog.  Also, if you are looking for a photographer, I am bias (of course), but my wife does an amazing job.  She recently just finished her 1st senior photo session!!  She has some of the photos posted on her website and they look incredible.  Again, if you are looking for a photographer you should contact her!! :)!  I am going to put my feet up a bit before our next practice.  I hope you have a blessed and amazing Tuesday!! God Bless.. 1 Peter 1:8-9

Tough Loss

Running a play

Good morning everyone!  Our last game we played was on Monday against Besiktas and we lost by 5, 64-69.  As you can see by the score it was a low scoring, grind out type of game.  We got off to a terrible start in the first quarter trailing 3-14 to start the game.  We were completely out of sync and were getting beat in transition all the time.  However, in the second half we came alive and inched our way back.  Finding ourselves down by only 2 points with a 1:30 to go in the game.  On the next possession Besiktas hit a 3 pointer to make it a 5 point game and it stayed that way the last minute.  I ended the game with 12 points (4-8 2fg, 0-3 3fg, 4-4 ft), 9 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals.  Our record is 8-6 in 7th place alone in the league.  Our next game is on Saturday out in Izmir, Turkey where we play Karsiyaka.  They are a very good team and are in 4th place in the league.  It will be another great opportunity to go out there and try and get a win on the road.  I am looking forward to it.

Talking strategy

Other than that everything is going well out here in Turkey.  I want to give a S/O to my sister Bryn Woodside for having an excellent Junior year in basketball and academics.  Extremely proud of her!  Have a wonderful Thursday!  Time for me to go and get ready for practice.  God Bless! Galatians 2:20

Long Time No Post

Driving baseline

Hey everyone!  Good afternoon from Ankara, Turkey.  I haven't updated my blog recently so I am going to give you a quick update on how our past two games went.  We are currently 8-5 tied for 6th place in the league.  Two weeks ago we played Turk Telecom.  We ended up winning 89-55.  I hardly played a half of basketball because of our lead.  I ended the game with 7 points (1-2 3fg, 4-4 ft), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.  We played excellent on defense during game from start to finish.  It was a great team win for us.

Floater

Our next game, which was last week, we played Mersin.  We won a barn burner 88-85.  We played really well in the first half, but we got off to a slow start in the second half and Mersin capitalized and the game was close from that point on.  I ended with 15 points (4-8 2fg, 0-1 3fg, 7-9 ft), 9 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks.  Can you believe it I lead our team in blocks haha!!  It was a great win for our team and it extended our winning streak to 5 games, which puts our record as I stated before at 8-5.  Tomorrow we have our next game vs. Besiktas.  They are an extremely talented team.  It will be a tough game for us.  We need to come out with a lot of energy like we have the past few games.  Their record is also 8-5.  We are tied for 6th place in the league with them.  It will be an exciting game!

Lay-up

There is a quick update for you on how our games have been going.  I haven't been on the blog at all lately because as you know my Dad was over here for Christmas.  We had an amazing time with him and some great memories that will last forever.  We went all over from sight-seeing in Istanbul to old castles in Ankara!  It was quite the adventure!  I gotta give a S/O to the NDSU Football team for winning ANOTHER National Championship!  Back2back!  Also the NDSU Basketball team is off to a hot start in Summit League action with a record of 4-0.  I stated this along time ago but I am predicting they are heading to the tourney this year!  Have a blessed Sunday!  God Bless! 2 Corinthians 10:17-18