King Szczecin went on a 23-12 run in the third quarter and never looked back to prevail over KB Sigal Prishtina, 85-78, on Monday, March 20, at the Netto Arena in Szczecin, Poland. Wilki Morskie won the series, 149-142, to secure a maiden trip to the Final Four.
Players of the game
Andrzej Mazurczak scored 11 of his 17 points in the second half.
Szczecin`s point guard had a game high 10 assists and added two steals.
Zac Cuthbertson dropped 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 from the charity stripe.
He filled the stat sheet with four rebounds, three assists, one steal, one blocked shot and, most important, a W for his team.
Phil Fayne posted 14 points on 6-of-9 accuracy from the field and grabbed nine rebounds.
Illinois State big man registered one steal too.
Bryce Brown and Tony Meier scored 13 and 11 points respectively.
Both made three shots from the deep each.
Dustin Thomas led KB Sigal Prishtina with 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field.
Power forward added six rebounds, four assists and one steal before he was fouled out.
Both Gach and Derrick Wilson scored 13 points each.
Jan Palokaj connected 4-of-5 three pointers enroute to 12 points.
Newcomer Nate Grimes had 11 points.
Key stats
KB Sigal Prishtina had a strong first half and jumped infront for a 41-42 lead.
Murat Bilge`s team focused on offensive glass and scored more second chance points, 6-12.
Kosovo`s team also excelled from the three point line – 2/8 vs 5/12.
The reigning ENBL MVP – Zach Cuthbertson – kept King Szczecin afloat as he scored 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting inside the three point line.
Cuthbertson received help from Andrzej Mazurczak, Bryce Brown and Phil Fayne after the halftime break.
Wilki Morskie held Prishtina to 12 points in the third quarter for a 64-54 lead.
The hosts made five three pointers in 10 minutes.
Phil Fayne stepped up in the fourth quarter and scored nine points for Szczecin.
Game notes
Power forward Tony Meier returned for King Szczecin and replaced Mateusz Kostrzewski in the starting five of a Polish club.
Shooting guard Jan Palokaj and power forward Nate Grimes started the game for KB Sigal Prishtina instead of a captain Dardan Berisha and Brooks DeBisschop.
King Szczecin will face BC Wolves in the semifinal.
SCHEDULE (local time only)
(A1) Polski Cukier Start Lublin 170–155 Ironi Ness Ziona (B4)
Game one: Ironi Ness Ziona 77-90 Polski Cukier Start Lublin
Game two: Polski Cukier Start Lublin 80-78 Ironi Ness Ziona
(A2) Budivelnyk Kyiv 162–167 BC Wolves (B3)
Game one: BC Wolves 80-83 Budivelnyk Kyiv
Game two: Budivelnyk Kyiv 79-87 BC Wolves OT
(A3) Zastal Zielona Gora – BM Stal Ostrow (B2)
Game one: Zastal Zielona Gora 97-94 BM Stal Ostrow
Game two: Tuesday, March 21, Ostrow 19:00
(A4) KB Sigal Prishtina 142–149 King Szczecin (B1)
Game one: Sigal Prishtina 64-64 King Szczecin
Game two: King Szczecin 85-78 Sigal Prishtina