Bristol Flyers erased a 17 points deficit in a short time but allowed 31 points in the fourth quarter against Šiauliai as the Lithuanians posted a 84-76 away win on Thursday, March 7, at the SGS College arena in southern England.
Players of the game
SGS College Arena was packed, loud and proud.
“Flyers! Flyers!” fans supported the home favorites throughout the game.
Leonard Thorpe stepped up for Šiauliai to silence the crowd for a few seconds.
UNC Asheville standout scored 9 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter.
Point guard went 5/7 from the three point line – along with eight rebounds and a game high eight assists.
Lithuanian duo Paulius Danusevičius and Karolis Giedraitis also had huge minutes in the final frame.
They combined for 12 points in the fourth quarter.
Shaquille Keith shined for the visitors with 16 points on 8/10 accuracy inside the three point line.
Jamaican-Canadian power forward had two important steals as well.
Brad Greene posted a huge double-double for the Flyers.
Big man scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Kedrian Johnson had 16 points on 7/13 shooting from the field.
Levi Bradley checked out with 15 points.
Key stats
Eight players scored for Šiauliai as the visitors shot 64 percent in the first frame for a 28-17 lead.
The Lithuanians increased their lead up to 17 points, with 06:05 left in the first half, 40-23.
Brad Greene and Kedrian Johnson sparked a 0-10 run for the Flyers, to cut the gap to seven points, 40-33.
Comeback continued well into the third quarter, as the hosts took a 51-55 lead with 13:09 to go.
The Flyers allowed 31 points in the fourth quarter and it cost them dearly.
Thorpe lighted it up from the deep, while Danusevičius, Keith and Giedraitis finished closer to the basket.
The Fantastic Four scored 27 points in the last 10 minutes.
Šiauliai shot 50 percent from the field, compared to 43 percent for Bristol.
Bristol had more steals (7-12), less turnovers (17-15) and more offensive rebounds (11-15) but it wasn`t enough.
Šiauliai scored more points off turnovers, 22-16.
Game notes
Šiauliai improved to 7-1, while Bristol dropped to 4-4.
The Lithuanians are 3-1 in the ENBL road games.
The Flyers are 1-3 in the ENBL home games.
Žydrūnas Urbonas has a 5-0 record in the ENBL.
Bristol Flyers have six consecutive losses, including two tight games against the BBL Trophy finalists.
Andreas Kapoulas and his men need to win by nine points in order to qualify for the Final Four.
Šiauliai may lose by seven points and still qualify for their second Final Four.
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, Šiauliai win 84-76
Game two: Tuesday, March 19, Šiauliai 18:00
The 2024 Final Four location will be announced immediately after the playoffs.
Final Four 2024
Tuesday, April 9 (tbc)
Semifinal one: Winners A1/B4 – Winners A3/B2
Semifinal two: Winner B1/A4 – Winner B3/A2
Wednesday, April 10 (tbc)
Medal games