Barret Benson scored 35 points to lift Polski Cukier Start Lublin over Tartu Ülikool Maks&Moorits, 85-75, on Monday, January 22, at the Hala Globus in eastern Poland.
Players of the game
Barret Benson scored 22 of his 35 points in the second half.
Southern Illinois University big man went 14/16 from the game and 7/11 from the charity stripe.
Benson added a team high 13 rebounds and blocked one shot.
He delivered the second highest scoring performance in the ENBL history.
Jabril Durham (Arkansas) had 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Liam O`Reilly (Gardner-Webb) also scored 11 points for the winners.
Rinalds Mālmanis led Tartu with 19 points on 8/16 shooting from the field.
Latvian power forward registered five rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Mart Rosenthal contributed with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Tartu captain missed one assist to register the first triple-double in the ENBL history.
Aaron Menzies had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Key stats
Both teams struggled from the three point line in the first half.
Polski Cukier Start Lublin shot 15% from the deep (2/13), while Tartu players made 18% of their three point field goal attempts (3/16).
Strong showing from Rosenthal, Mālmanis and Menzies helped Tartu to establish a 37-44 lead at the halftime.
Polski Cukier Start Lublin outscored visitors in the third quarter, 30-14, for a 67-58 lead.
The hosts increased lead up to 17 points.
They wanted to beat Tartu by at least 15 points but didn`t achieved that.
Points | ENBL records | 30 points club
Kristen Kasemets 39 November 21, 2023, Valmiera 91-97 Keila
Barret Benson 35 January 22, 2024, Lublin 85-75 Tartu
Jakub Garbacz 33 January 31, 2023, Wolves 87-75 Ostrow
Liam O`Reilly 33 November 21, 2023, Lublin 85-107 Bristol
Jerai Grant 32 January 4, 2023, Budivelnyk 73-59 TalTech
Cleveland Melvin 30 December 21, 2022, Prishtina 69-89 Lublin
Kristupas Žemaitis 30 January 17, 2023, Sopot 89-86 Alytus
Bryce Alford 30 January 25, 2023, Zielona Gora 78-73 Šiauliai
Trevon Allen 30 November 15, 2023, CSO Voluntari 89-68 Liège
Terrell Brown-Soares 30 January 9, 2024, Brno 90-74 Valmiera
Sean Knight 30 January 9, 2024, Brno 90-74 Valmiera
Game notes
Polski Cukier Start Lublin improved to 3-3, while Tartu Ülikool Maks&Moorits dropped to 4-2.
If there will be a three way tie between British, Estonian and Polish teams, the Bristol Flyers and Tartu Ülikool Maks&Moorits will advance to the next round.
The Flyers are 1-1 and +15 in a three way tie, followed by Tartu (1-1, -3) and Lublin (1-1, -12).
Start Lublin need to win one more game and a Bristol loss at Svendborg in order to qualify.
Tartu, however, has multiple advantages in many other scenarios, thanks to a 2-0 record against Bristol and Zwolle.
ENBL access: follow the game on YouTube live stream
Format
Four best teams from each group will qualify for the playoffs (A1-B4, A2-B3, A3-B2, A4-B1).
The 2024 playoffs – home and away, best-of-two series – will take place from February 1 until March 20.
The 2024 Final Four will take place on April 9-10.
Standings, as of January 22, 2024
Group A
Uniclub Casino Juventus 5-0 (+87) Qualified
Tartu Ülikool Maks&Moorits 4-2 (+47) Qualified
Bakken Bears Aarhus 4-1 (+61)
Bristol Flyers 3-3 (+39)
Polski Cukier Start Lublin 3-3 (-1)
Landstede Hammers Zwolle 1-3 (-44)
Svendborg Rabbits 1-5 (-133)
Spartak Pleven 1-5 (-56)
Group B
CSO Voluntari 5-1 (+67) Qualified
Royal Liège Basket 4-1 (+68)
Zastal Zielona Gora 4-1 (+25)
Šiauliai 4-1 (+39)
Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles 2-2 (+12)
Keila Coolbet 2-4 (-39)
Basket Brno 1-5 (-58)
Valmiera Glass ViA 0-7 (-114)
Tie-breaker 1: Zielona Gora vs Šiauliai 1-0, +26.
Tie-breaker 2: Šiauliai vs Newcastle 1-0, +2.
Tie-breaker 3: Šiauliai vs Voluntari 1-0, +8.
Tie-breaker 4: Liège vs Zielona Gora 1-0, +23.
Tie-breaker 5: Voluntari vs Liège 1-0, +21.