Dominion Bilbao Basket beats Bonn for its first win

Dominion Bilbao Basket started strong and held on the rest of the way en route to an 81-90 victory over Telekom Baskets Bonn on Tuesday. The result left the two sides even at 1-1 in Group A. Dominion took the lead for good with a 0-13 first-quarter run and led 15-31 after 10 minutes and by as many as 22 in the second quarter. Bonn never quit and slowly clawed its way back in the second half until it got within 3, but Dominion used a well-timed 0-6 push to fend off the Bonn challenge. Dairis Bertans paced the Dominion attack with 15 points, Dejan Todorovic added 14, Alex Mumbru and Alex Rouff scored 12 each and Clevin Hannah had 11. Shawn James anchored the Dominion defense with 9 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks. Aaron White led Bonn with 15 points, Jimmy McKinney added 14, Florian Koch and Isaiah Philmore scored 11 each and Eugene Lawrence dished 10 assists.

Nearly 90 seconds passed before Dirk Madrich split free throws to start the scoring. Rouff got Dominion on the scoreboard with a three-point play. Koch’s basket-plus-foul and a Lawrence triple made it 7-3 in Bonn’s favor. Triples by Madrich and Lawrence kept the hosts ahead 13-10 midway through the opening quarter. Todorovic scored twice in a 0-13 Dominion run that turned the game on its head. Even after a pair of White free throws, Todorovic scored the next 5 points to give the visitors a 15-31 lead after 10 minutes. James’s tip-in and a Hannah triple gave Dominion a 21-point cushion. The lead peaked at 18-40 after Bertans free throws. Philmore heated up for Bonn to narrow the gap and Koch nailed a three to make it 31-45. Another James tip-in kept Dominion comfortable, but Xavier Silas drew the hosts within 33-49 at halftime.

Koch sank a three to open the second half and later McKinney did the same to get the hosts within 43-52. Hannah and Lawrence traded threes, but Dominion remained in control as Todorovic and Hasnnah established a 48-63 lead. White’s tip-in ended the third quarter at 55-66. The visitors scored the first 5 points of the fourth quarter to take a 16-point lead on a Tobias Borg three-pointer. Philmore sank 4 free throws and Rotnei Clarke hit a three to keep Bonn in the picture. It was 68-74 after threes by Madrich and McKinney. McKinney soon added 3 free throws to make it a 3-point game. However consecutive baskets by Bertans, Raul Lopez and Axel Hervelle put Dominion back in the driver’s seat at 73-82. White game Bonn hope with a put-back to bring his team within 78-84 with a minute and a half to go, but a Rouff triple all but iced the win for Dominion.