– David Hein
The biggest news was RASTA Vechta pulling off a miracle comeback in beating Basketball Löwen Braunschweig after trailing by 27 points in the fourth quar-ter. The week also saw Killian Hayes lead ratiopharm ulm to a rare victory in Freak City while SYNTAINICS MBC welcomed back Björn Harmsen as head coach and MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg defeated ALBA BERLIN.
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:
Vechta come back from 27 down in fourth to beat Braunschweig
RASTA Vechta provided another dose of magic as they came back from a 27-point fourth quarter deficit to beat Basketball Löwen Braunschweig 106-103 at home. Braunschweig used a 36-19 third quarter to pull away and led by 27 points with 9 minutes left. But Vechta forced 7 Braunschweig turnovers over the rest of the game while the guests made just 1-of-7 from three-point range and 6-of-10 free throws in suffering their second straight loss and falling to 4-3. Vechta, who committed only 8 turnovers for the game compared Braunschweig’s 15, have now won five in a row and are 5-3. Six Vechta players scored in double figures, paced by Philipp Herkenhoff with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals off the bench while Steve Vasturia collected 19 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 1 steal. Scott Eatherton led Braunschweig with 24 points and 13 rebounds with Kostja Mushidi adding a career-high 20 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists and Joe Lawson picking up 18 points and 6 rebounds.
Hayes stands out in rare Ulm victory in Freak City
ratiopharm ulm came back from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to win 81-78 at Brose Bamberg for a rare victory in Freak City. Ulm held Bamberg to just 11 points in the final frame and got a big layup from Zoran Dragic to move ahead 80-78 with 47 seconds left. Killian Hayes blocked a Paris Lee layup attempt with 29 seconds to go as Ulm snapped their 5-game losing streak to move to 2-5 while Bamberg’s 5-game winning streak ended to drop to 6-2. Ulm now have a 2-15 record in Bamberg since 2009 after shooting 67.5 percent inside the three-point line and 59.3 percent for the game. Bamberg hit just 31.8 percent three-pointers and 11-of-17 free throws (64.7 percent). Hayes had 24 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and the big blocked shot while Dragic scored 18 points and Grant Jerritt added 15 points and 9 rebounds. Retin Obasohan paced Bamberg with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists off the bench and Assem Marei had 14 points, 5 rebound and 2 assists and Paris Lee chipped in 12 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists.
Ludwigsburg run continues with home win over Berlin
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg continued their strong run with an 81-77 home win over ALBA BERLIN. The game was close throughout before Khadeen Carrington’s three-pointer with 68 seconds left gave the hosts the lead for good. He added another basket and two free throws to help secure the win - Ludwigsburg’s fifth straight for a 7-1 mark. Berlin dropped their second straight to move to 5-2. Ludwigsburg shot just 39.7 percent and only 21.7 percent from three-point range with 9 assists, but they only had 9 turnovers and 12 offensive rebounds plus 26-of-33 free throws (78.8 percent) compared to 14 turnovers and 18-of-22 free throws for Berlin. Carrington had 18 points for Ludwigsburg with Nick Weiler-Babb scoring 17 points and Marcos Knight adding 15 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Berlin’s top scorer was Rokas Giedraitis with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists while Martin Hermannsson picked up 16 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists and Luke Sikma tallied 16 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
Giessen prevail in relegation battle over MBC
JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers grabbed a crucial victory in a battle of relegation-threatened teams, knocking off SYNTAINICS MBC 98-95 at home. MBC, who had Björn Harmsen at the helm for the first time as head coach, were leading by 17 points in the second quarter. It was tied with a minute left but Teyvon Myers scored a basket and Alen Pjanic hit two free throws with 20 seconds to go to secure the win, which moved Giessen to 2-5. MBC have now lost six straight and are 1-7. Myers led the way with 23 points and 7 assists while Brandon Thomas had 18 points. Benedikt Turudic scored a career-high 23 points for MBC, who also saw Kaza Kajami-Keane collect 21 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals, Andrew Warren score 19 points and Jovan Novak pick up 9 points and 12 assists in the loss.
Harmsen returns to MBC as head coach
SYNTAINICS MBC made a coaching change in their quest to remain in the league in bringing back Björn Harmsen to the sidelines. The 37-year-old takes over for Wojciech Kaminski, who had been asked to take a break and was filled in by his assistant coach Aleksandar Scepanovic. Harmsen coached MBC from 2008 to 2011, bringing the club to the easyCredit BBL. Harmsen most recently coached at Science City Jena, giving up his post seven games before the end of last season.
Göttingen fend off Hamburg comeback for road win
BG Göttingen fended off a comeback by Hamburg Towers but managed to secure a 93-87 road victory. Hamburg never led and trailed by 31 points late in the first half but they trimmed it to 89-87 with 11 seconds left. Kyan Anderson split two free throws with 10.7 seconds left but Jorge Gutierrez turned the ball over with 8.1 seconds to go and Bennet Hundt added a three-pointer at the buzzer for Göttingen’s second straight win for a 2-6 record. Hamburg have lost four in a row and are 1-6. Göttingen limited themselves to 13 turnovers and made 29-of-34 free throws (85.3 percent) while Hamburg shot 29.2 percent on threes and committed 16 turnovers. Dylan Osetkowski was Göttingen’s top scorer with 23 points while Terry Allen had 18 points and 7 rebounds and Anderson added 17 points and 6 assists. Hamburg were paced by Yannick Franke with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists while Gutierrez collected 16 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists.
Würzburg win ugly slugfest with Frankfurt at home
s.Oliver Würzburg secured victory in an ugly slugfest with FRAPORT SKYLINERS, winning 68-67 at home. Würzburg led by 15 points at the break but needed Jordan Hulls’ free throws with 8.6 seconds left to decide the game and move to 5-3 with a third straight win while Frankfurt moved to 3-5. Würzburg made just 29.4 percent of their three-pointers and turned it over 18 times but they made 17-of-19 free throws and held Frankfurt to 28.0 percent from long range and forced 18 turnovers and the guests made just 8-of-9 free throws. Cameron Wells was Würzburg’s only player with more than 8 points as he tallied 24 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. Frankfurt had Lamont Jones pick up 19 points and 5 assists while Quantez Robertson scored 6 points on 2-of-10 shots but did have 5 rebounds, 10 assists and 3 steals.
Würzburg added reinforcements for low post with Etou signing
s.Oliver Würzburg added reinforcements for the low post with the signing of Junior Etou. The 25-year-old Congolese native joined Würzburg after most recently playing with French club Cholet Basket. The addition of the power forward was needed after the long-term injury to Brekkott Chapman.
Bayern too much at home for Bayreuth, remain perfect in league
FC Bayern remained undefeated in the league with a 91-79 home victory over medi bayreuth. Bayern pulled away in the third quarter to move to 7-0 while Bayreuth saw their two-game winning streak end in falling to 2-5. Bayern shot 60.0 percent from the field, committed only 10 turnovers and won the rebound battle 35-26. Bayreuth only had 4 turnovers but they made just 42.6 percent from the field. Paul Zipser was Bayern’s leading scorer with 20 points and 6 rebounds and Vladimir Lucic scored 17 points. Reid Travis paced Bayreuth with 26 points and 6 rebounds with Evan Bruinsma and Nate Linhart both chipping in 12 points.
Oldenburg win at home to keep Bonn reeling
EWE Baskets Oldenburg bounced back from their loss at BG Göttingen by knocking off Telekom Baskets Bonn 88-83 at home. Oldenburg built a 12-point fourth quarter lead to move to 5-3 while Bonn are reeling with five straight losses and a 1-5 record. Oldenburg shot 42.9 percent from three-point range and hit 16-of-17 free throws while Bonn connected on 36.8 percent three-balls and committed 16 turnovers. Rickey Paulding paced Oldenburg with 20 points and both Tyler Larson (18 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists) and Rasid Mahalbasic (13 points, 8 rebound and 8 assists) flirted with triple-doubles. Bonn’s leading scorer was Benjamin Simons with 14 points while Yorman Polas Bartolo added 13 points and 6 rebounds and Branden Frazier chipped in 12 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists.
Player of the Week
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig suffered a shocking loss at RASTA Vechta - wasting a 27-point lead in the fourth quarter - but Scott Eatherton came up with the top showing of the week with an efficiency of 34. He collected 24 points on 6-of-11 shooting and 12-of-12 free throws, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and just 1 turnover.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Kostja Mushidi, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Mushidi scored a career-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shots including 3-of-5 three-pointers and 3-of-6 free throws while also picking up 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 1 block in the loss at RASTA Vechta.
F: Paul Zipser, FC Bayern Munich
We have a big team this week with Zipser leading Bayern with 20 points on 8-of-12 shots and 2-of-2 free throws, 6 rebounds and 1 block against medi bayreuth.
F: Philipp Herkenhoff, RASTA Vechta
Herkenhoff played a big role in Vechta’s magical comeback win over Basketball Löwen Braunschweig in scoring a team-high 20 points off the bench on 7-of-11 shooting including 2-of-5 three-pointers and 4-of-4 free throws. He added 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 0 turnovers in 26:00 minutes.
F: Benedikt Turudic, SYNTAINICS MBC
The 22-year-old Turudic tallied a career high 23 points to go with 7 rebounds 2 assist and 1 steal against JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers.
C: Leon Kratzer, FRAPORT SKYLINERS
Kratzer returns yet again with a solid game against s.Oliver Würzburg, scoring 11 points with 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block.
Young Guns
Bjarne Kraushaar, 20, PG, JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers
Kraushaar continues to be a factor for Giessen as he had 7 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 0 turnovers in 25:48 minutes against SYNTAINICS MBC.
Justus Hollatz, 18, PG, Hamburg Towers
Hollatz tallied a career-high 10 points as he made all three of field goal attempts and four free throws against BG Göttingen. He also had 1 assist and 2 steals with 0 turnovers in 14:49 minutes.
Richard Freudenberg, 21, SF, FRAPORT SKYLINERS
Freudenburg knocked down 4-of-8 three-pointers in scoring 12 points and picking up 2 rebounds in 27:15 minutes against s.Oliver Würzburg.
Q3 - 4:41min - 47:36
— FRAPORT SKYLINERS (@skyliners1999) November 17, 2019
Den Ball bewegen, dann ist da heute noch was drin!#geMAINsam #BIGLOVE
LIVE auf https://t.co/if2ZXMpY01 pic.twitter.com/aJYMyM5c7k
Mattisseck Check
Jonas Mattisseck was held scoreless for the first time this season against MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg, missing all three of his shots, including both three-pointers in 16:59 minutes. He did grab 1 rebound and turned the ball over one time.
Germans Abroad
Moe Wagner has officially arrived in the NBA as the second year player had by far his best game of his career for the Washington Wizards against the Minnesota Timberwolves with 30 points including 4 three-pointers to go with 15 rebounds and 2 assists.
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