Medi Bayreuth loses 76:84 to French cup winners

medi Bayreuth’s string of nine wins across all competitions has come to an end. On the ninth matchday in the Basketball Champions League, the team of Head Coach Raoul Korner lost to SIG Strasbourg by 76:84 (23:43) and so suffered its fifth defeat of the season on the European stage.

Unlike in its last outings, Bayreuth did not get into the game at all on Wednesday evening. It was only after the French club had posted a run of 12 points without reply that Kassius Robertson was able to get his side off the mark from the foul line. Indeed, medi managed just one bucket from the floor in the opening period. Since it was also much inferior in the rebounding department, it trailed by the clear margin of 6:27 after the first ten minutes.

However, there was no disputing Bayreuth’s tireless fighting spirit and it displayed that resolve from the second period on. The home side tried to avert the impending defeat by stepping up its intensity in defense and with better play in offense. In particular, Kassius Robertson nurtured hopes that his side could turn the game around by draining three buckets from beyond the arc. However, SIG Strasbourg did not allow its opponents to stage a comeback, in particular because it kept on snapping up offensive rebounds and also capitalized on its second chance to score. As a result, the visitors went in at half-time with a comfortable 20-point cushion (23:43).

The picture was similar after the break. medi Bayreuth endeavored intensively to sway the game its way. However, that was a difficult undertaking given that its best two players, Kassius Robertson and De’Mon Brooks, lacked support from the not completely fit Adonis Thomas and a Hassan Martin who was at risk of fouling out. And even when the game became increasingly heated, the team of Head Coach Vincent Collet maintained its composure. The French side always had the right reply to smallish runs by medi. The visitors either benefited from mistakes by its opponent or were able to finish the moves built by their solid play in offense. As a result, it went into the final period 43:62 ahead.

Fired up by a great atmosphere in the Oberfrankenhölle cauldron, Bayreuth gave its all again in the final quarter. 3:36 minutes had been played when De’Mon Brooks drained a bucket from outside to reduce the gap to below ten points again and raise his side’s hopes of pulling off a shock win. Dubious calls by the referees against Bayreuth kept on disrupting the flow of play and meant that the visitors ended up winning 36 free throws to the opposing side’s 15. They were able to exploit that advantage by adding easy points and stopping medi Bayreuth’s comeback. At the end, Bayreuth clawed its way back to within six points of the French club, but the burden of the deficit from the first period was too heavy and so it finally lost by 76:84.

Source: www.Medi-Bayreuth.de