15 September, 2020
01 January, 2021
0 Devaughn Akoon-purcell (BAKK)
23/09/2020
News
to read

Qualifiers Group A: Bakken Bears, Mons-Hainaut to face off in Final

NICOSIA (Cyprus) - Denmark's Bakken Bears and Belgium's Belfius Mons-Hainaut will battle it out on Friday for the Group A ticket to the Regular Season of the 2020-21 Basketball Champions League.

In Wednesday's Semi-Finals in Group A, Bakken defeated Israeli side Hapoel Tel Aviv while Mons-Hainaut overcame Poland's Anwil Wloclawek.

Bakken Bears 91-71 Hapoel Tel Aviv


Bakken used a late second-quarter burst to jump in the driver's seat and held Hapoel Tel Aviv at arm's length the rest of the way to pick up a 91-71 win and seal their passage to the Group A Final.

With Hapoel leading 36-33 just after the three-minute mark in the second quarter, DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell intercepted a pass, run down the court and finished with a dunk to spark a 12-0 Bakken run that would see the Bears arrive at halftime holding a 45-36 lead.

The Bears maintained a comfy distance throughout the third period and Q. J. Peterson drilled a triple 21 seconds from the third buzzer to cap off a mini run that lifted the Danish team to an unassailable 73-54 lead.

Bakken dominated the boards 45 to 31 and shot an excellent 49 percent from downtown. Akoon-Purcell paced the Danes with 19 points, Darko Jukic added 17 points and Michel Diouf posted a double-double of 14 points and 17 rebounds. For Hapoel, Yam Madar had 19 points and 8 assists in a losing effort.

Anwil Wloclawek 69-81 Belfius Mons-Hainaut


Mons-Hainaut closed out the opening quarter on a 16-7 burst to claim the upper hand and never looked back, as they secured an 81-69 victory over Anwil in the second Group A Semi-Final on Wednesday.

The Belgian team was trailing 23-22 with 6 minutes left to the interval when Auston Barnes scored with a hook shot to instigate the pivotal stretch for Mons-Hainaut, who went to the locker rooms having established a 38-30 lead.

Based on Anwil's recent track record in the BCL Regular Season everyone expected them to react after the break, but the Polish comeback attempt never materialized and Mons-Hainaut stretched the lead to as many as 21 points.

Arik Smith came off the bench and poured in 21 points in 25 minutes to lead the way for Mons-Hainaut, Auston Barnes had 14 points and Skylar Spencer chipped in with 10 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals. Theron Bussey had a team-high 14 points for Anwil in defeat.