MLP Academics Heidelberg wasted a 19-point lead but fought through and knocked off Basketball Löwen Braunschweig 93-82 in overtime on the road. Brekkott Chapman scored 23 points to lead Heidelberg, who have captured back-to-back wins since snapping a nine-game losing streak to move to 6-10. Braunschweig dropped to 6-9 in front of 500 fans at the Volkswagenhalle.
Game summary: Heidelberg jumped ahead 16-7 before watching Braunschweig fight back into the game and tie it 18-18. But the hosts trailed 21-18 after 10 minutes. The game remained close the entire second quarter with Heidelberg not leading by more than seven points and never letting Braunschweig pull ahead. And the guests were leading 43-40 at the break.
Heidelberg raced away with a 19-3 run to start the second half and build a 62-43 advantage. Braunschweig head coach Jesus Ramirez was ejected with just more than 2 minutes left in the third quarter with his second technical foul. The home side responded with the final 10 points of the frame to trail 62-53 after 30 minutes. The surge continued in the fourth quarter and ended up being 26-1 in total as Braunschweig went ahead 69-63. Heidelberg knotted the game 73-73 after two three-pointers, and the end of regulation was a rollercoaster of emotions. Ondrej Sehnal hit a driving layup with 1.1 seconds left to give Braunschweig the lead 75-73. On the ensuing in-bounds play, Jordan Geist passed to the rim where Kelvin Martin batted it in to force overtime. Geist and Chapman hit three-pointers in a 9-2 run early in the extra session to lead 84-79 and that was enough for Heidelberg.
Numbers please: Heidelberg committed only 10 turnovers in 45 minutes and also converted 22-of-26 free throws (84.6 percent) compared to just 12-of-22 (54.6 percent) from the foul line for Braunschweig. The hosts could not take advantage of a 51-35 rebound difference, including 18 offensive rebounds.
Player of the Game: Brekkott Chapman gets top honors with 23 points and 12 rebounds, but Kelvin Martin was certainly worthy as he collected 20 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 8 steals.
The Germans: Leon Friederici picked up 8 points, 2 assists and 1 steal for the winners while Benedikt Turudic tallied 10 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists and David Krämer chipped in 10 points and 6 rebounds for Braunschweig.
Also newsworthy Part 1: Braunschweig were paced by Martin Peterka with 17 points and 9 rebounds while his fellow Czech international Ondrej Sehnal contributed 16 points, 6 assists and the basket the home fans had hoped to be the game winner.
Also newsworthy Part 2: All of the Braunschweig players were wearing the name “Amaize” and number “21” on their pre-game warm-ups to honor their injured captain Robin Amaize, who is out for the rest of the season.
Beyond the sidelines: Braunschweig’s new addition Arturs Zagars was not able to make his debut as he suffered a foot injury earlier in the day. The 21-year-old Latvian arrived on loan from Spanish side Joventut Badalona.
What's up next: Braunschweig will next face medi bayreuth on the road on Friday, January 21. Heidelberg’s next game meanwhile is scheduled at home against FC Bayern Munich on Sunday January 23.
Video: Highlights for this game available in the upper right under the tab "Video" or here at MAGENTA SPORT.
Anmerkung: In der Saison 2021/22 werden wie hier auch gelegentlich Nachberichte in englischer Sprache verfasst.
Note: During the 2021-22 season, there will occasionally be game reports published in English.
