MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg locked up their third victory in three games with a dominant 103-74 win over Brose Bamberg at the easyCredit BBL Final Tournament 2020.
Thomas Wimbush paced six Ludwigsburg players in double figures with 20 points while Nick Weiler-Babb picked up 16 points, Marcos Knight added 14, Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann 13, Jaleen Smith 11 points and Ariel Hukporti had 10 points in the Group B game. Ludwigsburg improved to 3-0 and secured a top-two finish in the group. Ludwigsburg’s final group game will be on Monday June 15 against ALBA BERLIN.
Bamberg took a step back from their strong performance but loss against ALBA BERLIN in their first game in falling to 0-2. Elias Harris was top scorer for Bamberg with 16 points while Jordan Crawford had 15 points, Tre McLean chipped in 13 points and 9 rebounds and Paris Lee finished with 11 points and 4 assists. Bamberg return to the court hoping for their first win on Saturday June 13 versus FRAPORT SKYLINERS before finishing group play against RASTA Vechta on Monday June 15.
Lee drained a three-pointer as Bamberg went on a 7-2 run to lead 7-4 early. And a Retin Obasohan triple had Roel Moors’ men ahead 14-11. Ludwigsburg had their first run with Smith completing a three-point play and Weiler-Babb hitting from outside for a 19-14 advantage. Wimbush also was on target from long range and Ludwigsburg led 25-17 after 10 minutes.
Weiler-Babb’s three to start the second quarter extended the gap to double-digits 28-17. Lee sandwiched three-balls around a McLean three-point play to get Bamberg within 33-28. But Wohlfarth-Bottermann scored four points and Smith knocked down a long ball in an 18-5 run for a 51-33 margin. And the gap was 51-36 at intermission.
Bamberg allowed Ludwigsburg to grab four offensive rebounds early in the second half and they used that energy to surge ahead 61-38. A Hans Brase triple had the gap at 68-47 when Crawford hit two threes and McLean also drained a long ball and Bamberg were within 68-56. Bamberg failed to score in the final 2:54 minutes of the quarter and trailed 76-56 after 30 minutes.
Marvin Heckel started the fourth quarter with a three-ball for Bamberg but Wimbush took over with a three-pointer and four-point play in extending the cushion to 87-62. Bamberg were not able to get closer than 23 points the rest of the way.
QUOTES: Ludwigsburg’s Thomas Wimbush: “We knew that we had to come out and get on them early and make a statement from start to finish.”
Ludwigsburg HC John Patrick: “The guys were motivated. We lost close in Bamberg and that was a bitter loss. We played good today.”
About team committing only three turnovers: “Only three? Amazing. I know we didn’t have any in the first half. Even if we don’t play pretty basketball, that is a key to our success. Today we were very good with only three.”
Bamberg’s Christian Sengfelder: “We just didn’t have any energy. Ludwigsburg played very well. They took away our offensive rhythm entirely, and they did what they wanted to offensively and got what they wanted. We couldn’t take away anything.”