medi Bayreuth defeats RASTA Vechta and s.Oliver Würzburg

It was tough work for the team of Head Coach Raoul Korner – but crowned with success. medi bayreuth sealed its first win of the season in the easyCredit German Basketball League with a 74:65 (34:38) victory on the road at newly promoted RASTA Vechta on Friday evening. After a pretty scrappy first half from both teams, the club from Upper Franconia stepped up its game in the third period, which it took by the margin of 22:8. In front of a crowd of 3,140 in the RASTA Dome, the Heroes Of Tomorrow built a lead of 16 points at one stage and ultimately held on to it securely.

The spectators in the RASTA Dome, which was sold out for the 73rd time in a row, saw a checkered start by both sides. Vechta displayed strong man-to-man defense, which made life tough for the visitors. A run of 8 points without reply, to which Moses Ehambe contributed two buckets from beyond the arc, made it 16:9 after exactly five minutes and forced Bayreuth to call a timeout. Things went better for medi after that – Steve Wachalski reduced the deficit to 14:16 with a three in the 7th minute and tied the scores in the final minute of the quarter.

Vechta initially went ahead in the second period. However, medi closed the gap to 34:35 in the final minute after free throws by Kyan Anderson, after which the conspicuous Moses Ehambe drained another three-pointer (34:38). Kyan Anderson then likewise scored for Bayreuth from beyond the arc on the buzzer, but the shot did not leave his hand until after the clock had run down and so the points were rightly disallowed by the referees.

The Heroes Of Tomorrow returned with great zest after the break and got off to a furious start: A 7:0 run turned the game around and RASTA’s Head Coach Andreas Wagner called his team together for another timeout after just 130 seconds. Vechta then struck back with its own 5:0 run to make it 43:41 in the 25th minute, but almost expended itself completely in the process. The home side scored only once after that, when Frank Gaines put his team in front for the last time (46:45 in the 27th minute).

After that, there was only one team in the game, namely medi bayreuth. Secure free throws (2 by Linhart and 4 by Lewis), a bucket from outside by Kyan Anderson and a buzzer-beating lay-up on a fast break by captain Bastian Doreth produced a run of 11 without reply to make it 56:46 after 30 minutes.

At the beginning of the final quarter, the team from Upper Franconia stretched its lead further. Vechta again tried all they could in the remaining minutes, but never came closer than seven points (65:72 in the 40th minute). Trey Lewis completed the scoring in the game, securely draining his free throws number five and six to make the final result 74:65.

medi picks up where it left off against Vechta to win the Franconian derby against s.Oliver Würzburg by 83:71

Thanks to great team basketball and led by an outstanding Steve Wachalski, medi bayreuth captured its first home win of the still young 2016/2017 season – and in what fashion! In front of a crowd of 3,011, the team of Head Coach Raoul Korner was firmly in control of the game against s.Oliver Würzburg over almost all the 40 minutes. The club from Lower Franconia was only able to keep the deficit down in the first period, and shortly after half-time and over long spells of the final quarter the lead was as high as 17 points in a game it eventually lost by 83:71 (42:28). Korner singled out Steve Wachalski for special praise after the latter scored 20 points, did not miss a shot and achieved a personal milestone by notching up his 1,000th German league point on the evening.

With the win in Vechta behind them, the Heroes Of Tomorrow got off to an ideal start. medi soon built a solid lead. After a fine assist by Anderson over half the court, Andreas Seiferth completed a fast break with a three-point play to make it 14:7 in the 6th minute. Würzburg was not able to reduce the gap after that. With 40 seconds left in the period, Kyan Anderson then set Steve Wachalski free and the latter not only made it 22:14, but also bagged his 1,000th and 1,001st points in the German league.

The Heroes Of Tomorrow kept up the pressure on the visitor’s basket and a further bucket from outside by Wachalski stretched the gap to 36:22 in the 16th minute. That 14-point lead held until the break.

The around 200 visiting fans did not have much cause to celebrate in the second half, either. Although Würzburg improved its 3-point field goal percentage sharply, medi always had the right response to quick threes by Jake Odum and Vladimir Mihailovic. The club from Lower Franconia was then able to cut the deficit to ten points midway through the period (52:42 by Brendan Lane), but the subsequent timeout called by Bayreuth produced an impact. The visitors were not able to catch up and Steve Wachalski drained another three to make it 61:48.

When Robin Amaize gave Bayreuth its highest lead (67:50 in the 32nd minute), there ensued what was probably the visitors’ best spell. Würzburg produced a 7:0 run to make it 57:67 in the 34th minute, again benefiting from a technical foul against Trey Lewis. After a further timeout, Steve Wachalski drained his fourth bucket from beyond the arc to herald in Bayreuth’s final spurt, in which the lead increased again to 17 points after a three by Linhart (79:62 in the 38th minute).