Bourg blasts Bursaspor
Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse led by as many as 38 points in the third quarter before cruising to 95-65 demolition of Frutti Extra Bursaspor on Tuesday night at Ekinox. Pierre Pelos led five Bourg scorers in double figures with 20 points and 7 rebounds. Axel Julien and C.J. Harris followed with 16 points apiece, JaCorey Williams scored 12 and Alexandre Chassang 11. The victory lifted Bourg out of last place in Group B and into a tie with Bursaspor and Umana Reye Venice for eighth place at 2-4. Allerik Freeman scored 20 points for Bursaspor, Egemen Guven added a career-high 15 and Onuralp Bitim 10.
An emphatic Williams slam followed by a Pelos triple gave the hosts a promising start. Freeman got Bursaspor going with a jumper. Dave Dudzinski scored twice to keep the visitors close, but a three-pointer by Julien and fastbreak layup by Harris helped Bourg build a 14-6 cushion. Julien’s second three created the game’s first double-digit lead, 19-8. His next triple made it 24-9 and Bourg cruised to a 28-11 lead after 10 minutes.
Chassang connected from downtown to make it a 20-point margin early in the second quarter. Anthony Brown gave Bursaspor a lift, but Bourg remained in control as Maxime Roos's put-back and Pelos’s free throws gave the hosts a 39-15 lead midway through the quarter. A Bursaspor timeout changed little as Rasheed Sulaimon buried a three and Pelos added free throws. Freeman penetrated for a bucket only to see Pelos score from outside and in for a 30-point difference. Guven fought for points inside for Bursaspor, which was able to score 6 straight points, but went into halftime down 54-26 after Harris’s basket-plus-foul in the closing seconds.
Andrew Andrews and Harris traded threes early in the second half as the pace slowed. Pelos and Freeman were next to swap triples. Free throws by Brown got Bursaspor within 64-35 midway through the third quarter. Back-to-back threes by Julien and Maxime Courby saw the lead soar to 72-35. Guven remained Bursaspor’s main reference as Pelos and Harris buried threes to extend the margin to 78-40. Guven and Bitim drew the visitors within 78-44 through three quarters.
Freeman opened the fourth quarter with a three and Bitim heated up to trim the difference. Freeman added another triple and Bitim drove for a layup that made it 85-61 with 5 minutes remaining. Free throws by free man made it a 20-point margin before Harris answered with a three-pointer. The hosts finished strong with a 10-0 run to close out the game with a 30-point advantage.
Magic moments for Falcoz
Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse’s 30-point rout of Frutti Extra Bursaspor was a night that teenage Corentin Falcoz will never forget. Bourg’s teenage guard was called to finish the game and in doing so made his EuroCup debut. The first time Falcoz touched the ball, he fed Alexandre Chassang for a corner jump. Then, with time running out, he pulled up for a three-pointer – his first EuroCup points – to wrap up the win. His line for the game was 3 points and 1 assist in 38.9 seconds, during which time Bourg outscored Bursaspor 5-0.
Bourg updates the record book
Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse needs to update the club’s record book after its blowout win over Frutti Extra Bursaspor. The team set club bests in the EuroCup for three-pointers made and assists and tied the record for performance index rating. Bourg’s 16 three-pointers bettered the previous mark by 1, which was set in a road win over Bahcesehir Koleji Istanbul in September 2020. Bourg shot 61.5% on those threes, which is second-best in club history. Its 24 assists were also 1 better than the previous record, which the team achieved twice- most recently in Round 3 this season against Promitheas Patras. The PIR of 121 tied the PIR from that win over Promitheas, too.
Guven produces nicely for Bursaspor
Frutti Extra Bursaspor center Egemen Guven made his first start since opening night and produced his finest game in his four seasons in the EuroCup. The 25-year-old center scored a career-high 15 points on 6-of-6 two-point shooting. He also made 3 of 4 free throws, collected 4 rebounds, dished 1 assist and collected 1 steal for a performance index rating of 18, which is also a personal best. Guven started slowly like the rest of his team with just 2 points in the first quarter before netting 5 in the second quarter and 6 in the third. He became the first player in club history to make at least 6 shots in a game without any misses.
Tuesday, December 7, 2021
Eurocupbasketball.com