20 October, 2020
09 May, 2021
23 De'shawn Stephens (BEAR)
16/12/2020
Game Report
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Bakken stun Sassari to stay in race for Play-Offs berth - Week 7 Wednesday roundup

MIES (Switzerland) - Bakken Bears waited a long time for their first ever road win in the BCL but could not have picked a better time than Wednesday, as by upsetting previously undefeated Group A leaders Dinamo Sassari they stay in contention for a ticket to the Play-Offs.

Meanwhile over in Group D, Casademont Zaragoza extended their perfect start to three games at the expense of Falco, while Nizhny Novgored picked up a second consecutive win on the road, this time at Pszczólka Start Lublin.

Dinamo Sassari 71-93 Bakken Bears -- Group A


Bakken Bears found an impressive setting to finally taste victory on the road in the BCL, on their 10th time of trying, after coming back from a 13-point deficit to upset previously undefeated Dinamo Sassari 93-71 and stay alive in the battle for a top-two finish in Group A.

Sassari were hoping on Wednesday to celebrate a fourth consecutive win that would secure them, as well as Iberostar Tenerife, a ticket to the next stage, and would eliminate the Bears and Galatasaray from contention in the process.

The Italian team claimed the lead right after tip-off and appeared to be tightening their grip on the game as early as 14 seconds from the first-quarter buzzer, when a Jason Burnell layup extended the gap to 29-16.

But Bakken's defense regrouped in spectacular fashion with the start of the second frame and held their hosts scoreless during almost five minutes to start climbing back.

Tylor Ongwae drilled a triple 1:31 from the halftime buzzer to give the Danes their first lead of the night, 37-34, and the Danes never trailed again.

Sassari's last attempt to turn the tables was just enough for the hosts to tie the scores at 41-41 less than a minute into the third quarter, but
Darko Jukic replied swiftly by knocking down a jumper and sparked an 11-2 Bakken run.

The hosts were unable to come within striking distance at any point in the final stanza and Bakken celebrated an historic success in club history.

Ongwae led no less than seven Bakken players in double digits with his 16 points and added 7 rebounds while De'Shawn Stephens posted a double-double of 15 points and 12 boards as Bakken out-rebounded Sassari 54 to 40.

Eimantas Bendzius had a game-high 17 points and added 6 rebounds for Sassari while Burnell collected a double-double of 16 points and 11 boards in defeat.

Casademont Zaragoza 85-76 Falco Szombathely -- Group D


Zaragoza remain unbeaten in Group D after building a 20-point lead in the second quarter and turning back Falco in the third frame to clinch an 85-76 win at home.

In a collaboration between two players who were returning to action after injury, Javier Justiz scored with a layup on a Rasheed Sulaimon assist to cap off 9-0 Zaragoza run and the hosts gained a double-digit lead, 33-20, with 6:26 left to the end of the second quarter.

Zaragoza stretched the gap to as many as 20 points, 47-27, with two minutes left to halftime but after the interval Falco started chipping away at the deficit and back-to-back De'Quon Lake dunks reduced it to 63-57.

Dylan Ennis however stopped the rot right before the third buzzer and followed up with a three-pointer with the start of the final stanza for Zaragoza to extend their lead to 68-57 and keep their visitors at arm's length the rest of the way, as Falco shot a catastrophic 22 percent (4 of 18) from three-point land.

Ennis and Robin Benzing had 14 points each for the winners, the former also adding 8 rebounds and 4 assists, while Falco's Evan Bruinsma finished with a game-high 21 points and Zoltan Perl had a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds in losing efforts.

Pszczólka Start Lublin 66-85 Nizhny Novgorod -- Group D


Nizhny pulled away decisively from hosts Lublin in the third frame and clinched an 85-66 win, their second on the road in as many games away from Russia in a week, inflicting on the Polish team a third consecutive defeat in the BCL.

The visitors grabbed the lead shortly after the opening exchanges and led by as many as 14 points in the first half, but Lublin made a last attempt to turn the tables after the interval.

After the Polish side reduced the deficit to 44-37 however, Ivan Strebkov drilled a triple right at the 8-minute mark in the third period and sparked a 22-3 Nizhny run.

Luke Petrasek knocked down another three-pointer with 3:36 remaining to the third buzzer to cap off the burst, extending the gap to 66-47, and the Russian side maintained the gap almost unchanged until the end.

Kasey Shepherd paced Nizhny with 18 points and 5 assists, and Alexander Gankevich had 16 points and 5 rebounds, while Sherron Dorsey-Walker had 17 points for Lublin in defeat.

Nizhny have improved to 2-1 in the Group D standings and are in hot pursuit of first-placed Zaragoza, while Lublin fell to 0-3 and are yet to taste victory in their maiden season in the competition.