Bakken Bears Aarhus scored 29 points in fast breaks to defeat the Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles, 92-87, in the first game of the best-of-two series on Friday, March 1, at the Vertu Motors arena in northern England.
Players of the game
There were few empty seats at the Vertu Motors arena on Friday night.
A lot of support in the stands, a lot of talent on the floor.
Ten (!) players scored in double figures.
Skyler Bowlin was huge for the Bakken Bears in the second half.
A former Missouri Southern State University guard scored 15 points in the second half.
Aarhus captain finished the game with 18 points on 6/10 shooting from the field and 3/4 from the charity stripe.
Bowlin had a game high four assists and dished out five assists too.
DeAndre Pinckney scored 16 points on 6/9 shooting from the floor, including 3/4 from the three point line.
Southern Mississippi standout had 15 points in the first half.
Big man grabbed nine rebounds and blocked one shot.
Ryan Evans shined with 13 points and a game high 15 rebounds.
A former Wisconsin forward added five assists.
Malik Parsons, Michel Diouf and Gustav Knudsen scored 13, 11 and 10 points respectively.
Jordan Johnson led the Newcastle Eagles with a game high 19 points.
University of Nevada at Las Vegas point guard went 10/14 from the free throw line.
A former Runnin` Rebel dished out five assists.
Rickey McGill posted 17 points on 7/16 shooting from the field.
A reigning ENBL MVP had a game high six assists.
Tajh Green (Benedict College) scored 18 points and grabbed four boards.
Last but not least, British national team player Josh Ward-Hibbert checked out with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Key stats
Bakken Bears were focused, fast and mobile right from the start.
They went on a 9-3 opening run and scored 13 points on fast breaks until the halftime break.
Pinckney and Evans finished many attacks to combine for 25 points in the first half.
Skyler Bowlin had three steals in the first 20 minutes.
The Eagles were sharp too but missed their shots more often.
Bakken Bears shot 55 percent from the field in the first half (20/36), including 42 percent from the three point line (6/14).
Newcastle struggled from the deep with 25 percent (5/20).
Bakken Bears never stopped and finished the game with 29 points scored on fast breaks.
Thanks to many easy points, they maintained their field goal accuracy above the 50 percent line.
The Eagles shot 40 percent.
Game notes
Bakken Bears improved to 6-2, while Newcastle Eagles dropped to 5-3.
Anders Sommer and his men are 5-0 in the ENBL road games.
Marc Steutel and his men are 3-1 in the ENBL home games.
The Eagles need to win by six points at Aarhus to qualify for the Final Four.
Bakken Bears may lose by four points on the home floor.
It was the first ENBL play-off game in the United Kingdom.
Rickey McGill received his MVP award from Mr. Edgars Zanders, ENBL Secretary General.
ENBL access: follow the game on YouTube live stream
SCHEDULE (local time only)
(A1) Uniclub Casino Juventus Utena – Royal Liège Basket (B4)
Game one: Wednesday, March 13, Liège 20:00
Game two: Wednesday, March 20, Utena 18:30
(A2) Bakken Bears Aarhus – Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles (B3)
Game one: Friday, March 1, Newcastle; Bakken Bears win 92-87
Game two: Wednesday, March 13, Aarhus 18:30
(A3) Tartu Ülikool Maks&Moorits – CSO Voluntari (B2)
Game one: Tuesday, March 12, Tartu 19:00
Game two: Tuesday, March 26, Bucharest 19:00
(A4) Bristol Flyers – Šiauliai (B1)
Game one: Thursday, March 7, Bristol 19:30
Game two: Tuesday, March 19, Šiauliai 18:00