– David Hein
It was the week of the Battles of the Bs: FC Bayern Munich battled past ALBA BERLIN in the showdown of the last two unbeaten teams while Brose Bamberg bombarded Telekom Baskets Bonn and medi bayreuth bested Basketball Löwen Braunschweig. In other action, BG Göttingen got their first victory of the season while HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim have now lost two straight.
In this section, we break out our English language skills and inform you about the latest news from the German easyCredit Basketball Bundesliga. If you’re short on time but still want your fill of Germany’s top basketball league then you are in the right place. Every week David Hein (www.heinnews.com) brings you up-to-date in German basketball – the easyCredit BBL short and sweet:
Bayern hold off Berlin in battle of final two undefeated teams
FC Bayern Munich remain the only undefeated team in the easyCredit BBL as the reigning champions fended off ALBA BERLIN 84-80 at home in a battle of unbeatens. Bayern began to take over in the third quarter and built a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter before Berlin made things close down the stretch in front of a sold-out Audi Dome crowd. Bayern grabbed 13 offensive rebounds and converted 20-of-26 free throws compared to 13-of-20 for Berlin, who did manage to hit 52.7 percent of their shots. Both teams committed 16 turnovers in a sloppy game of two powers who were lacking some of their star players and energy as the EuroLeague season begins to leave its mark. Bayern were missing Josh Huestis, Mathias Lessort and Nihad Djedovic while Berlin did not have Tyler Cavanaugh and Peyton Siva. Alex King nailed 5 three-pointers in scoring 19 points for Bayern, who moved to 6-0. Greg Monroe added 13 points, 9 rebounds and 5 steals and Vladimir Lucic pitched in 13 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Berlin, who fell to 5-1, were led by Rokas Giedraitis, who had 17 points but none in the second half. Johannes Thiemann scored 16 points and Martin Hermannsson had 13 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists.
Bamberg roll past Bonn to stay undefeated on the road
Brose Bamberg remained undefeated on the road in the easyCredit BBL as they rolled past Telekom Baskets Bonn 106-81. Bamberg, who are 4-0 away from Freak City, led 28-14 after 10 minutes and the lead was 55-28 at halftime as they moved to 6-1 with five straight wins. Bamberg out-rebounded Bonn 41-26 and shot 56.3 percent for the game including 53.8 percent from three-point range and hit 20-of-21 free throws (95.2 percent). Bonn, who have lost four in a row and are 1-4, converted on just 26.7 percent from long range. Assem Marei paced the winners with 19 points and 11 rebounds, Kam Taylor had 18 points, Nelson Weidemann scored a career-high 14 points, Christian Sengfelder added 13 points and 7 rebounds and Paris Lee scored 8 points on 3-of-10 shooting but did dish out 10 assists with 0 turnovers. Bonn got 12 points from Martin Breunig and Stephen Zimmerman scored 11 points while Branden Frazier added 10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
Ludwigsburg win streak moves to four games, Crailsheim drop second
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg extended their winning streak to four games by knocking off HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim 92-83 on the road. Ludwigsburg’s 18-point third quarter advantage was dwindled to four in the final quarter but Khadeen Carrington scored six straight points for the guests to decide the game. Ludwigsburg, who committed just 6 turnovers, improved to 6-1 while Crailsheim have now lost two in a road to drop to 5-2. Thomas Wimbush was Ludwigsburg’s leading scorer with 19 points with Jaleen Smith adding 17 points and Carrington picking up 13 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Crailsheim waisted strong efforts from Javontae Hawkins (23 points and 5 rebounds) and Sebastian Herrera (22 points).
Göttingen turn up offense in getting first victory of the season
BG Göttingen turned up their offense as they bolted past EWE Baskets Oldenburg 104-87 at home for their first win of the season. Göttingen, who pulled away in the third quarter, shot 63.0 percent on threes (17-of-27) and 56.9 percent for the game while also converting 21-of-23 free throws (91.3 percent). The 104 points were 22 more than Göttingen’s best previous output - 82 in a loss at Brose Bamberg last week as the team improved to 1-6. Oldenburg, who shot 52.2 percent for game and made all 8 of their free throws, have now lost three of their last four for a 4-3 record. Kyan Anderson was Göttingen’s main weapon with 26 points and 9 assists while Dylan Osetkowski had 20 points and 8 rebounds, Dominic Lockhart tallied 17 points with 5 three-pointers and Elias Lasisi picked up 17 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Rasid Mahalbasic paced Oldenburg with 15 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals and Tyler Larsen had 15 points in the losing effort.
Ulm struggles continue with home loss to Würzburg
ratiopharm ulm cannot find their winning ways again as they lost at home 82-73 against s.Oliver Würzburg. Ulm scored just 1 point in a four-minute stretch in the fourth quarter and then watched Würzburg hit 10-of-10 from the free throw line in the final 61 seconds for their second straight win to move to 4-3. Ulm, who were held to just 37.9 percent shooting, including 22.7 percent from long range, have lost five in a row and are 1-5. Luke Fischer paced the guests with 14 points while Jordan Hulls had 13 points, 5 assists and 4 steals and Cameron Wells chipped in 13 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Ulm were without the injured Zoran Dragic and Tyler Harvey. Andreas Obst led the way with 16 points while Killian Hayes had 15 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals and Grant Jerrett tallied 15 points and 7 rebounds.
Vechta win again with balanced effort in Giessen
RASTA Vechta used a balanced effort to continue their excellent play with an 87-79 victory at JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers. Vechta never trailed and led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter, committing only 11 turnovers and forcing 19 turnovers by Giessen. Vechta are riding a four-game winning streak at 4-3 while Giessen have dropped two straight for a 1-5 mark. Five Vechta players scored in double figures, led by Sergi Garcia’s 17 points with Ishmail Wainwright collecting 15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals and Michael Kessens adding 13 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Giessen were paced by Jordan Barnett with 20 points while John Bryant put together 14 points and 14 rebounds and Stephen Brown added 14 points and 5 assists.
Frankfurt continue fine form with win at MBC
FRAPORT SKYLINERS continued their fine form of late by grabbing a 99-92 road victory over SYNTAINICS MBC. Frankfurt trailed by 15 points in the third quarter but put together a 33-13 final frame for their third win in the last four games to improve to 3-4 while MBC have dropped five straight and are 1-6. Frankfurt turned the ball over nine times and shot 55.7 percent for the game with six players in double figures. Lamont Jones led the way with 26 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists and Leon Kratzer had 14 points and 9 rebounds. Strahinja Micovic paced MBC with 18 points and 7 rebounds with Andrew Warren and Cameron Jackson both scoring 16 points and Michael Gbinije chipping in 15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocks.
Bayreuth grab second straight win, beating Braunschweig at home
medi bayreuth picked up their second straight win as they defeated Basketball Löwen Braunschweig 95-89 at home. Bayreuth were up by 17 points in the second quarter but needed big three-pointers late by Evan Bruinsma and James Woodard and 5-of-6 free throws in the final 20 seconds to move to 2-4. Braunschweig are now 4-2. Bayreuth made 24-of-31 free throws compared to 12-of-20 for Braunschweig. Bruinsma ended with 23 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals off the bench, Woodard had 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists and Andreas Seiferth chipped in 13 points and 7 rebounds. Thomas Klepeisz scored 19 points for Braunschweig while Joe Lawson had 19 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals, Trevor Releford tallied 14 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists and Scott Eatherton had 11 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.
Hamburg added Mexican point guard Jorge Gutierrez
Hamburg Towers added some much-needed reinforcements at the playmaker spot as they signed Mexican point guard Jorge Gutierrez until the end of the season. The 30-year-old, who has played 47 games in the NBA, fills the vacant guard position after the departure of Kahlil Dukes.
Player of the Week
This week’s Player of the Week honor goes to Kyan Anderson, who helped BG Göttingen win their first game of the season. Anderson collected 26 points on 7-of-12 shooting and 8-of-9 free throws to go with 1 rebound, 9 assists and 2 steals for an efficiency of 29 against EWE Baskets Oldenburg.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Dominic Lockhart, BG Göttingen
Lockhart returns to the team after scoring 17 points with 5 three-pointers to go with 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal against EWE Baskets Oldenburg.
G: Sebastian Herrera, HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim
Crailsheim ended up losing to MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg but Herrera did all he could with 22 points on 4 three-pointers, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 0 turnovers in 28 minutes.
F: Alex King, FC Bayern Munich
The veteran played a huge role in getting Bayern a win over his former team ALBA BERLIN with 5 three-pointers in scoring a team-high 19 points as well as 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. The 19 points were just short of his career high of 20 points from 2014 when he was playing for Berlin.
F: Michael Kessens, RASTA Vechta
Kessens had a strong game for Vechta against JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers as he picked up 13 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in the win.
C: Leon Kratzer, FRAPORT SKYLINERS
Kratzer is also back again as he tallied 14 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block against SYNTAINICS MBC.
Young Guns
Bjarne Kraushaar, 20, PG, JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers
Kraushaar continues to have a solid season as he scored 7 points on 1-of-3 three-pointers and 4-of-4 free throws while also picking up 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal in 14:26 minutes against RASTA Vechta.
Nelson Weidemann, 20, PG, Brose Bamberg
Weidemann scored a career high 14 points for Bamberg in the win over Telekom Baskets Bonn, hitting 3-of-6 shots including 2-of-3 three-pointers, and 6-of-6 free throws and picking up 1 assist in 14:10 minutes of action.
Bennet Hundt, 21, PG, BG Göttingen
Hundt had been a regular in the German Top Five but the 21-year-old still gets a spot in the Young Guns as he had 5 points on 1-of-6 shots and 2-of-2 free throws, 1 rebound, 4 assists and 1 steal in 19:35 minutes in the win over EWE Baskets Oldenburg.
LIVE-VIDEO: 16 Punkte schon für Alex King - zuletzt erzielte die Nummer sieben des @fcb_basketball so viele Punkte im Oktober 2014 gegen die @cr_merlins ... damals noch für @albaberlin! #easyCreditBBL pic.twitter.com/p6kZMwOpGs
— easyCredit BBL (@easyCreditBBL) November 10, 2019
Mattisseck Check
Jonas Mattisseck held his own for ALBA BERLIN in the big showdown at FC Bayern Munich. The 19-year-old point guard started the game and picked up 5 points on 2-of-5 shooting and 1-of-2 free throws, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 turnovers in 20:13 minutes.
Germans Abroad
Oscar da Silva had a great start to his junior season with the Stanford Cardinal as he collected 21 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals and 1 block in a victory against Montana.
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