medi Bayreuth misses chance to win in Gießen

After its recent magnificent displays against Oldenburg and in Lisbon in the FIBA Europe Cup, medi Bayreuth went down to a defeat on the 18th game day of the easyCredit German Basketball League: The team of Head Coach Raoul Korner lost on the road at JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers by 93:100 (43:43) on Sunday afternoon.

Whereas the 46ers were able to go ahead at the start of the second half, Bayreuth struck back strongly at the beginning of the final period, but failed to seize its chance to take both points home, also as a result of a poor free throw percentage: 17 out of 26 or 65% compared to its average of 82% for the season.

The most valuable player for GIESSEN 46ers was Luke Petrasek. The American was forced to miss the game between the two clubs earlier in the season because of injury, but this time he notched up a total of 25 points (including 5 out of 7 threes) and added crucial points in crunch time to help the club from Hesse to victory.

Both sides began at a high pace and got into their stride pretty quickly. Whereas Bayreuth was always especially dangerous when it channeled its moves through center Andreas Seiferth, the 46ers were mainly successful with fast attacks. All in all, the crowd in the Sporthalle Ost saw a closely contested first half between two evenly matched teams. medi Bayreuth could certainly have been ahead at the break, but its free throw percentage (7 out of 13 attempts) was simply too poor. On the other hand, Bayreuth controlled the boards in the first half and, thanks to 13 offensive rebounds, made amends for its weaker shooting percentage than the home side in all departments.

Bayreuth has always been able to step up a gear right after the break in its recent games, but on Sunday afternoon it was Gießen who managed to do that. The team of Head Coach Ingo Freyer surged 59:49 ahead in just 3:46 minutes after the break – and it kept the screws on. The 46ers had built their highest lead (67:55) with two minutes left in the third period and only let the gap be cut marginally at its end (71:62).

Yet once again the team of Head Coach Raoul Korner showed its morale and great heart. Led on by James Robinson, it staged a comeback, closing the gap and tying the scores at 80:80 in just 5:34 minutes. James Robinson completed a four-point play by draining the bonus free throw to put Bayreuth back in front again. Neither team was able to open up a gap until the final minute, when a poor choice of shot and a turnover gave Gießen the chance to win, which the man of the game Luke Petrasek exploited after an offensive rebound by adding two of his total of 25 points to make it 98:93 and seal victory.

Raoul Korner, Head Coach of medi Bayreuth, commented: “Congratulations to Ingo and his team on their deserved win. I hadn’t expected a sparking display from us, given that our program in the past days was also too much of an emotional drain. We captured important victories and what I wanted was for us to still produce a focused performance here. And we did that by and large. Unfortunately, we missed many open shots and free throws and then made too many individual errors in defense – just as we had managed to even take the lead after trailing by 9. That was the spell in which the team that makes the stops wins – and that was Gießen. They were better in one-on-one situations. That’s what made the difference today.”

Spirou Basket Charleroi visits the Oberfrankenhalle on the final game day of the second group stage in the FIBA Europe Cup this Tuesday, February 4. The tip-off is at 6:30 p.m.

Source: https://www.medi-bayreuth.de/