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Würzburg

Basketball Bundesliga: Brose Bamberg loses in Würzburg

Würzburg, 02-06-2022

Brose Bamberg's injury worries are getting bigger and bigger - and that was clearly noticeable in the Franconian derby away to s.oliver Würzburg. Due to the loss of center Akil Mitchell, the Amiel boys' defense, which had recently been more stable, was too porous and unfocused at times. The result was the unexpected 89:90 defeat after leading 89:85 one minute before the end.

How much injury misfortune can a team have in just a few weeks? After the long-term absences of Patrick Heckmann and Kenneth Ogbe, center Akil Mitchell suffered a tarsal fracture and will miss up to 10 weeks in the worst case. Local rival s.oliver Würzburg clearly showed how important the American has been for Bamberg in the nine games so far, in addition to his almost 13 points, 7 rebounds and three assists, especially on defense. The team from Lower Franconia, which was defeated 78-97 in the first leg in Bamberg 10 days ago, scored many easy points, especially in the middle under the basket. 61 percent of all Würzburg's "twos" fell through the trap, where the Bambergers clearly lacked Mitchell. Würzburg punished these carelessnesses of the Amiel boys mercilessly. Although Bamberg started 4:0, Würzburg countered with threes for a 0:10 run and pulled away to 8:22 after eight minutes, Coach Amiel took the timeout. After two threes by Christian Sengfelder (19 points) and Tomaz Kyzlink (8 points), the guests cut the deficit to 17:26 at the end of the quarter. In the strong second quarter, Justin Robinson turned up the heat, netting three threes and giving Bamberg a 43:40 lead, going into halftime with a tight 45:44.

But Bamberg was unable to build on the good run of the second quarter after the break. From the middle of the third quarter (51:51), the Amiel boys' defense deteriorated again, with four three-pointers in four consecutive attacks Würzburg inflicted a 58:70 deficit on Bamberg. Dominik Lockhart, recovered from his hand injury, opened the final quarter with his eighth point and the renewed Bamberg chase: especially Justin Robinson (22 points) and Omar Prewitt (23 points) took the initiative, with a basket and two three-pointers playmaker Robinson reduced the deficit to 73:77, then Prewitt scored three times from distance within 70 seconds, Bamberg with 82:80 in the lead. Christian Sengfelder increased the lead to 87:83, the momentum was actually on Bamberg's side after Prewitt free throws (89:85) and only 70 seconds left in the game. But the Würzburg timeout seemingly broke Bamberg's concentration: the home side first cut the deficit to 89:87 and later drew level at 89:89. As a result, Prewitt was blocked and Würzburg had its last attack with 23 seconds on the clock. A Cameron Hunt free throw secured the 90-89 home win for Würzburg.

"It was a game where the momentum changed several times. Würzburg had a run in the second half, then we had a run and were actually in a good situation to get the win. Then we made mistakes in the last 45 seconds that cost us the game. That's very disappointing, but it's part of the life and learning of a basketball team," said Oren Amiel (head coach Brose Bamberg) after the game.

Next weekend, Brose Bamberg has to play away at jobstairs Giessen 46ers. On Saturday, February 12, 2022, it's Jump at 8:30 p.m. in the Sporthalle Ost for the Amiel boys.