Brose Bamberg loses despite nine threes by Rice and leading 18:3

Brose Bamberg produced an explosive start to surge 15 points ahead (18:3) against second-in-the-table EWE Baskets Oldenburg, but was not able to win the encounter against the club from Lower Saxony. Despite nine threes and 33 points from Tyrese Rice, the team of Head Coach Federico Perego suffered an 86:93 home defeat.

Perego was without Ricky Hickman – the American had flown home after the disappointing Final Four weekend, as his wife was expecting their third child. Bamberg did all in their might to make amends for the poor performances in the Champions League in the opening five minutes, repeatedly overrunning Oldenburg’s defense with fast moves and finishing them quickly and accurately. A bucket from outside by Rice, lay-ups through Rubit and Heckmann, and the next three from Rice put their side ahead by double digits (12:2) after just two minutes. And when Cliff Alexander was set up by Tyrese Rice in textbook fashion to add a slam-dunk and make it 18:3, Oldenburg called a timeout. The visitors then showed greater venom at the back and were increasingly able to find a way through Bamberg’s defense. Yet Tyrese Rice (22 points in the first half) proved a reliable mainstay for Bamberg: After Oldenburg had cut the deficit to 20:13, the American drained two more shots from beyond the arc, while Elias Harris added another bucket to put his side 29:18 ahead at the end of the period. Nevertheless, the club from Lower Saxony seized the momentum, reducing the gap to 32:27 with a run of seven points without reply and striking back with successful shots whenever Bamberg scored. The home side went in at half-time with a 47:44 advantage.

The visitors took the lead (49:50) for the first time one minute after the break and then stretched it to double digits (53:63) in the space of three minutes thanks to tough defending. Augustine Rubit (19 points) tied the scores almost single-handedly by notching up 11 points in a row. Trailing by 64:67, the home side made too many mistakes in defense at the start of the final period and Oldenburg gratefully pounced on them to move 68:80 ahead with eight minutes remaining. Bamberg then no longer had the strength to mount a comeback. Although top scorer Tyrese Rice (33 points) added three more buckets from outside and set a new league record for this season (nine threes), Bamberg was not able to get any closer than five points (82:87). Bamberg has now lost seven out of its last ten games and has to win at least one of its last two (at Bayreuth and against Würzburg) to hold on to fifth place in the table at the end of the regular season.

Federico Perego commented: “Congratulations to Oldenburg on what was ultimately a deserved win. We displayed the right attitude today. We started with a lot of energy, but our strength dwindled at the end. We have to fight the way we did today in our next two games. Then it’s the playoffs and the season starts all over again.”