BBL: Bamberg Loses in Braunschweig

The Bamberg Baskets lost their away game of the 26th matchday in the easyCredit Basketball Bundesliga against the Basketball Löwen Braunschweig. With a score of 88:114, Bamberg clearly came up short in the Volkswagen Halle in a game that had many parallels to the season opener between the two teams on September 22nd last year in Freak City. Just like in the first encounter, both teams started the game on equal footing before the Basketball Löwen dominated a quarter and pulled away. While it was the third quarter in the first game, this time it was the second quarter that the Lower Saxony team won with the exact same score of 36:19, extending their lead to 20 points. As in the previous game, the Bamberg Baskets came back strongly on Sunday afternoon in front of 5,324 spectators and reduced the deficit to just three points. However, as quickly as they had fought their way back into the game, the Basketball Löwen pulled away again and won the game comfortably and without any danger.

Both teams took a moment to find their rhythm. Just over two minutes before the end of the first quarter, KeyShawn Feazell equalized from the free-throw line before the Bamberg center player put his team ahead 20:17 with an And-One. However, the hosts ended the quarter with a 9:3 run and took the lead again with a successful jump shot by Chip Flanigan as time expired. Only 93 seconds had been played in the second quarter when Anton Gavel took his first timeout. His players didn't seem to take much from it, as just 88 seconds later he called another timeout. Luka Scuka had dunked the ball into the Bamberg basket, putting the Löwen ahead by double digits at 27:37. Adrian Petković reduced the deficit to 30:37 with a three-pointer in the next attack, but from then on the hosts increasingly took control of the game. Point by point, the Löwen extended their lead and went into halftime with a 42:62 lead. The Bamberg team came out of the locker room like a different team. With a 12:2 run, they halved the Lower Saxony team's lead within just 2:12 minutes. And Head Coach Anton Gavel's team didn't let up. With just under four minutes left in the third quarter, KeyShawn Feazell reduced the deficit to 63:66 from the free-throw line. The Braunschweig team wobbled, but only briefly. Scuka, Flanigan, and Velicka scored and put their team back in double digits with 2:18 minutes left in the third quarter. As at the end of the first quarter, Löwen captain Chip Flanigan again delivered an emotional blow with a buzzer-beater. His three-pointer for a 69:81 score after 30 minutes was particularly bitter as the hosts had almost lost the ball before. The events of the final quarter are quickly told. The Braunschweig team started with a 6:0 run and quickly pulled away to 69:87. Watson, Lofton & Co. tried to stay in the game and came back to 82:94 with just under five minutes left, but the Braunschweig team didn't let themselves be put in danger again. With a 20:6 run, the hosts ended the game and celebrated a comfortable home victory.

Before the next game in the easyCredit Basketball Bundesliga, which will also be an away game, the Bamberg Baskets have a weekend off. On Palm Sunday, April 13th, the next away game will take place against Chemnitz at the Messe Chemnitz. Jump is at 15:00.