Basketball Löwen Braunschweig earned a crucial victory in their fight for the home court advantage in the playoffs by knocking off MLP Academics Heidelberg 94-74 on the road to pass Heidelberg for third place. Braunschweig pulled away in the second quarter and never let the hosts really threaten the rest of the way for a 17-11 record. Tre Mitchell scored 15 points to pace six players in double figures for Braunschweig, who had dropped their last four road games. Heidelberg had won their last six home games but fell to 16-12 despite a sold-out crowd of 4,410 fans.
Game Summary: The hosts early on had trouble with the backcourt duo of TJ Crockett and Barra Njie who combined for 10 points and Braunschweig jumped ahead 18-7. Heidelberg drained two triples and got as close as 22-19. But Tre Mitchell converted a four-point play and the guests were up 29-19 after 10 minutes. Braunschweig remained in control in the second quarter and extended the cushion to 14 points at 39-25. The score was 41-27 when Heidelberg worked their way back into the game with an 11-4 spurt to cut the deficit to 45-38. And the score was 49-40 at halftime.
Mitchell scored Braunschweig’s first seven points in the second half and the guests held Heidelberg to just one basket in nearly the first 6 minutes and led 56-42. Braunschweig’s defense held strong and the cushion swelled to 19 points 65-46 and was 67-48 after 30 minutes. Two triples early in the final frame gave Braunschweig a 76-50 lead and Heidelberg did not get closer than 18 points the rest of the way.
Numbers Please: Braunschweig held Heidelberg to just 37 percent shooting for the game including 23 percent from long range. The hosts turned the ball over 19 times and scored just 2 fast break points.
Player of the Game: Tre Mitchell led Braunschweig with 15 points but TJ Crockett was Mr. Do-it-all for the winners. He picked up 11 points to go with 5 rebounds - 3 of them from the offensive glass, 3 assists, 2 steals and 0 turnovers in 29 minutes.
The Germans: Braunschweig's young big man Sananda Fru poured in 13 points to go with 11 rebounds - his fourth double-double of the season - 1 steal and 1 block. Benny Schröder added 6 points and Ferdinand Zylka chipped in 4 points. Mateo Seric was limited to 7 points in the fourth quarter in his 100th game in the Bundesliga while Paul Zipser had 4 points.
Win ... and tiebreaker: The victory was extra valuable for Braunschweig as Jesus Ramirez's team not only pulled ahead of Heidelberg in the race for third place but they also secured the valuable tiebreaker. Heidelberg had collected a 72-65 victory in Braunschweig in Round 4 in October.
Heidelberg star duo bottled up: DJ Horne and Ryan Mikesell both came into the game averaging 14.8 points for Heidelberg. Braunschweig frustrated both of them, limiting Horne to 9 points on 3 of 11 shots while Mikesell had 7 points while shooting 0 of 6 from the floor. It was the second time in three games that Mikesell did not hit a shot, going 0 of 7 versus NINERS Chemnitz.
What's Up Next: Heidelberg’s next game will be on the road on Wednesday April 30 when they play at RASTA Vechta. Braunschweig for their part will remain on the road and take on Telekom Baskets Bonn on April 30.
Video: Highlights of this game will be available soon on Dyn's website or here on Dyn's YouTube channel.
Anmerkung: In der Saison 2024/25 werden wie hier auch gelegentlich Nachberichte in englischer Sprache verfasst.
Note: During the 2024-25 season, there will occasionally be game reports published in English.
