FIT/One Würzburg Baskets remained alive in the fight for the Semi-Finals by knocking off Basketball Löwen Braunschweig 79-72 at home to force a decisive Game 5. Würzburg held Braunschweig to just 3 points in the final 2 minutes and the home team has now won the last eight matchups. Zac Seljaas poured in 17 points and Hannes Steinbach produced 11 points and 14 rebounds for the winners. Braunschweig missed a chance to close out the series and reach their first Semi-Finals since 2010 despite TJ Crockett scoring 16 points.
Record: Basketball Löwen Braunschweig (3rd seed) - FIT/One Würzburg Baskets (6th seed) 2-2
Game Summary: Würzburg fans had a real scare just two minutes into the game as both Jhivvan Jackson and Davion Mintz remained on the floor after a collision in the air. Both would return and Mintz drained a triple for the first double-digit lead 22-12. Braunschweig saw TJ Crockett hobble off the court just 6 minutes into the game and trailed 28-21 after 10 minutes. Braunschweig tallied the first six points of the second quarter in holding Würzburg scoreless for 3 minutes to pull within 28-27. Würzburg answered with a 7-0 spurt over 4 minutes to slip away 32-27. And two scores from Nelson Phillips put the hosts up 44-34 at halftime. put the hosts up 44-34 at halftime.
Braunschweig started the second half with the first 8 points to trim the deficit to 44-42. Würzburg finally scored after more than 3 minutes and answered with the next seven points and Zac Seljaas pushed the cushion to 55-44. The guests tried to stay close with Ferdinand Zylka hitting two triples and Arnas Velickas’ three-point play made it 61-55 after 30 minutes. Two scores from Crockett trimmed the deficit to 65-62, which Phillips answered with a second triple for the home side. Velicka drained a triple for the guests and Barra Njie’s layup made it a one-point game with 2 minutes to go. Hannes Steinbach threw down a massive dunk and one and Würzburg led 73-69 with 106 seconds to play. After Jackson’s layup, Steinbach saved the game with a steal and offensive rebound leading to two free throws with 21 seconds left to make it 77-70.
Numbers Please: Würzburg did a better job using their offensive rebounds with 24 second chance points compared to 14 for Braunschweig. And in a game decided by seven points, Braunschweig made just 14 of 22 free throws while the hosts converted 14 of 16 from the charity stripe.
Player of the Game: Hannes Steinbach was outstanding all game and collected 11 points, 14 rebounds - 5 of them from the offensive glass, 1 assist, 1 steal and 4 blocks. The 19-year-old set career highs in rebounds and blocks.
The Germans: Besides Steinbach, Bazou Kone added 7 points and 2 assists for the winners. Ferdinand Zylka was the top scoring German for Braunschweig with 10 points to go with 2 rebounds and 2 steals while Sananda Fru dealt with foul trouble and finished with 7 points and 6 rebounds.
League MVP Jackson contributes despite rib injury: Jhivvan Jackson said after Game 3 that it hurts to breathe. But the league MVP still managed to contribute despite a rib injury in Game 4, scoring 9 points to go with 5 assists and 2 steals.
What's Up Next: The teams will match up one more time to decide who will advance and face ratiopharm ulm in the Semi-Finals. Game 5 will take place on Thursday May 29 in Braunschweig.
Miscellaneous: If Braunschweig win the fifth Quarter-Finals game on Thursday and face Ulm in the Semi-Finals, Braunschweig would not have access to the Volkswagen Halle for the scheduled date of the second Semi-Final game. Therefore, the league would move this game to a later date and push forward the third Semi-Final game in Ulm. As a result, Ulm would have the first two home games, then Braunschweig could have up to two home games, and a potential decisive fifth game would again take place in Ulm.
Sonstiges: Sollte Braunschweig am Donnerstag das fünfte Viertelfinale gewinnen und im Halbfinale auf Ulm treffen, stünde den Löwen am vorgesehenen Termin des zweiten Halbfinales die Volkswagen Halle nicht zur Verfügung. Deshalb würde die Liga diese Partie nach hinten sowie das dritte Halbfinale in Ulm nach vorne verlegen. Als Folge davon hätte Ulm erst zwei Heimspiele, dann Braunschweig bis zu zwei Heimspiele und eine eventuelle entscheidende fünfte Partie würde wieder in Ulm stattfinden.
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.
