BBC Bayreuth fights for victory against Kirchheim

BBC Bayreuth celebrated a hard-fought 91:84 victory against fifth-placed Bozic Estriche Knights Kirchheim in the BARMER 2nd Basketball Bundesliga Pro A this evening.

The BBC started the game against the club from Württemberg with Lenny Liedtke, Marios Giotis, Selim Fofana, Philip Jalalpoor and Aaron Carver. As Moritz Plescher was still injured and Corey Manigault, who had been newly signed to replace Kristian Sjolund, was still missing, the BBC started with a line-up of just nine players.

The game began nervously on both sides with many missed shots. Selim Fofana drained the first three for the BBC to make it 5:1 after just over three minutes. Philip Jalalpoor then also scored from distance to make it 8:1 in Bayreuth's favour and the Knights called their first timeout. The BBC made it 11:7 after five minutes and threes were scored on both sides. Marios Giotis gave Bayreuth a double-digit lead for the first time with 23:12. Shane Gatling made it 25:16 at the buzzer in the first quarter.

Bayreuth stretched its lead to 30:18 after a three by Shane Gatling. The score was 32:20 after twelve minutes and Bayreuth's play was difficult for Kirchheim to predict, making it difficult for the visitors to get into the game. After a three by Jaydon Henry-McCalla, Kirchheim closed the gap to 28:36, whereupon BBC Head Coach Mladen Drijencic called a timeout. Esa Ahmad put Bayreuth's lead back into double digits at 39:28. The visitors then closed the gap to 34:39. A three by Michael Flowers cut the gap to 37:39, but the Knights now had a run and Michael Miller equalised to make it 41:41. The BBC finally produced a small final spurt in the second quarter and led 45:41 at half-time.

The second half got off to a similarly bumpy start as the first half. After a three-point play by Esa Ahmad, the BBC led 50:46 and Michael Flowers then tied the scores at 52:52. Bayreuth's offence lived off its guards in front of 2,256 spectators. The BBC then went 58:54 in front again. This was followed by an unsporting foul by the visitors, but the BBC's nine-point lead remained. The BBC got back to the game that had made it strong in the first quarter. Bayreuth finally went 69:61 ahead after 30 minutes.

The BBC initially took a double-digit lead again through Marco Rahn 73:63. However, the visitors then drained two threes to make it 69:73 after 33 minutes. Esa Ahmad then stretched the BBC's lead back to 75:69. Shane Gatling then drained a three to make it 78:70 and Michael Flowers also struck back from beyond the arc to make it 73:78 and so it went into crunch time. Esa Ahmad was forced to leave the court with his fifth foul with just under four minutes remaining. The BBC went 84:79 in front with just under two minutes remaining. Marios Giotis limped off the court with an injury with the score at 84:80 with 74 seconds left. Selim Fofana stretched the gap to 86:80 and Michael Miller reduced the deficit to 82:86, after which the visitors were called for an unsporting foul. Philip Jalalpoor made it 90:82 from the foul line with 24 seconds remaining. The BBC ultimately won 91:84 and now has nine wins on the board after 16 games in the Pro A and remains ninth in the table.

Bayreuth will host Gartenzaun24 Baskets Paderborn next Saturday, 13 January. Tip-off is at 19:30.