Brose Baskets beating Gran Canaria 70-58

Brose Baskets finished its 2006-07 ULEB Cup apperance with a smile in beating already qualified Gran Canaria Grupo Dunas 70-58 in Bamberg, Germany, in Group A on Tuesday night. Brose Baskets finished fifth in Group A with a 3-7 record, while Gran Canaria was fourth at 5-5 and will face Real Madrid, Montepaschi Siena or BC FMP in the first elimination round. Darren Fenn led the winners with 23 points and 9 rebounds. Steffen Hamann added 13 and 5 assists, while Vincent Yarbrough had 12 for Brose Baskets, who were without injured power forward Zelly Wesson and suspended guard DeJuan Collins. Jimmie Hunter had 16 points for Gran Canaria, while Sitapha Savane added 10. Brose Baskets limited its opponents to just 11-of-38 two-pointers and 7-of-22 three-pointers. The hosts led 41-33 midway through the third quarter, but a red-hot Hunter stepped up to lead Gran Canaria to a 45-48 edge after three quarters. Fenn became the game hero, as he had 10 points in a game-breaking 17-3 run that sealed the win long before the final buzzer.

The hosts got on the board first with a Fenn jumper. Hunter answered with a long-range bomb for a 2-3 lead for the visitors. Back-to-back baskets inside for Hamann and Yarbrough pushed Bamberg ahead 10-5 midway through the first quarter. Hunter hit another three-pointer and added a layup before Jim Moran's basket inside evened things at 12-12. Two foul shots and a power move by Fenn and Tim Begley's lay-up had the Germans up 18-13 after one period. Moran started the second frame with a three-pointer only to see Chris Ensminger's offensive rebound and put-back keep Salva Maldonado's team at bay 20-16. Roberto Guerra and Victor Baldo both came off the bench for two foul shots to even the game again at 20-20. Hamann grabbed a rebound and drove the length of the court for a layup and a 24-20 Bamberg advantage. It was again 4 points for Bamberg after Begley's long-range bomb. Jackson Vroman then made three free throws and Sajmen Hauer's ill-advised pass against the Gran Canaria press was stolen and led to an alley-oop dunk by Hunter, giving the visiting team a 29-30 lead. But Ivan Pavic hit a jumper and Ensminger put back an offensive rebound for a 33-30 halftime scoreline.

Dirk Bauermann's squad continued its hard-nosed defense in the second half with Gran Canaria unable to score in its first four possessions as Bamberg pulled ahead 36-30 on Fenn's hook shot. Kornel David finally hit a three-pointer for the visitors, but Hamann's free throw gave Bamberg a 41-33 advantage. However Gran Canaria went on an 0-8 run, highlighted by Moran's three-pointer, to even the game at 41-41. Marcus Norris hit a three-pointer to make it 43-46 and Baldo stole the ensuing inbounds pass and layed it in for a 43-48 lead. Yarbrough's dunk cut the deficit to 45-48 going into the fourth quarter. Bamberg continued its fight back and Fenn's inside basket completed an 8-0 run. David stopped the bleeding temporarily with a driving layup for a 51-50 scoreline. But Fenn buried a three-pointer and Begley followed with a very long desperation bomb of his own. Fenn struck from outside yet again with the shot clock winding down for a 62-51 lead with four minutes left. Savane's alley-oop dunk trimmed the advantage to 63-56 and Hunter's two foul shots made it 65-58 with 1:44 left. But Bamberg was driven to give their home fans a final home victory as Yarbrough converted an alley-oop dunk and Fenn scored on an offensive rebound to send the crowd into a final frenzy.