Bakken Bears Aarhus received a heavy barrage of three pointers in the first half, but dominated in the paint to overcome Spartak Pleven, 87-70, on Friday, December 15, at the Sparekassen Danmark Basketball Center.
Players of the game
DeAndre Pinckney was huge for the Bakken Bears.
A former Southern Mississippi center scored 27 points on 11/16 shooting from the field, including a near perfect 11/12 closer to the basket.
Pinckney was especially impressive in the first half, when he dropped 20 points.
Malik Parsons had a big game as well.
A Northwestern Oklahoma State University standout scored 19 points on 6/10 shooting from the field and 6/9 from the charity stripe.
He has scored 19 or more points in five international games – out of eight.
Darko Jukič posted 11 points, five assists and a team high three steals.
Drew Gordon led Spartak Pleven in scoring with 13 points.
A former Louisiana Tech center grabbed four offensive rebounds and blocked one shot.
Konstantin Toshkov showed his qualities at both ends of the court.
He had 11 points, four assists and three steals.
Captain Nikolay Stoyanov and Bryant Thomas added 11 points each.
Key stats
Spartak Pleven went 7/15 from the three point line in the first half and led by as much as eight points.
A hard work by DeAndre Pinckney kept Aarhus in the game.
Pinckney scored 20 points until the break and the Bakken Bears secured a 40-38 lead after a reverse three point play by Malik Parsons.
He split the free throws and grabbed offensive rebound himself to score second chance points.
The Bears never trailed again and limited Spartak efforts from the deep.
Anders Sommer`s men dominated in the paint, 58-32.
Aarhus club scored more points on fast breaks, 14-7.
Spartak scored seven three pointers more, 3/15 vs 10/26.
Game notes
Bakken Bears improved to 2-0, while Spartak Pleven dropped to 0-4.
DeAndre Pinckney averages 26.0 points in the ENBL.
Bakken Bears have a 10-0 record at the Basketligaen.
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 December 15, 2023
Group A
Uniclub Casino Juventus 3-0 (+41)
Bristol Flyers 3-1 (+50)
Bakken Bears Aarhus 2-0 (+41)
Tartu Ülikool Maks&Moorits 2-0 (+31)
Polski Cukier Start Lublin 1-2 (-12)
Landstede Hammers Zwolle 1-2 (-16)
Spartak Pleven 0-4 (-56)
Svendborg Rabbits 0-3 (-79)
Group B
CSO Voluntari 4-1 (+53)
Royal Liège Basket 3-1 (+35)
Zastal Zielona Gora 3-1 (+21)
Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles 2-2 (+12)
Šiauliai 2-1 (-16)
Keila Coolbet 1-2 (-27)
Basket Brno 0-3 (-21)
Valmiera Glass ViA 0-4 (-57)
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.