EWE Baskets Oldenburg won 61-62 at Asseco Prokom

EWE Baskets Oldenburg made its Euroleague debut a memorable one on Wednesday night with a hard-fought 81-87 road win at Asseco Prokom. Rookie Josh Carter broke a 79-79 tie with a clutch triple with less than a minute-and-a-half remaining and Rickey Paulding sealed the win with an off-balance three-pointer with 24 seconds left to lift the German champs to victory. Despite missing injured playmaker Jason Gardner, Oldenburg rose to the occasion led by Paulding's 23 points and JeKel Foster’s 20 points and 6 assists. Marko Scekic added 12 points, Carter had 10 and both Jasmin Perkovic and Milan Majstorovic notched 9 points and 8 boards for the winners. Qyntel Woods dominated with 23 points and 14 boards to lead the Polish champs, David Logan had 15 points and 6 assists and Jan Jagla and Ronnie Burrell added 10 points apiece. Oldenburg heads back to Germany to take on Armani Jeans Milano in its home opener next week, while Prokom travels to the Spanish capital to battle Real Madrid in Week 2.

Prokom won the opening tip and let Woods lead the way, hitting a bank shot and throwing down a slam in transition on the first two possession. Logan added a basket before Paulding used a pretty move to get the visitors on the scoreboard. Woods tacked on 2 more points from the line before Paulding showed his skills at both ends of the floor with a triple and some fine defense. Baskets by Ruben Boumtje Boumtje and Perkovic inside helped cancel a Daniel Ewing triple as Oldenburg tied the score at 13-13. Woods threw down a highlight reel jam, but Foster's first triple kept the visitors within 1. Ewing upped the lead to 3 from the line only for Carter's triple to even things at 19-19. After a timeout, Paulding stripped Woods, who reached out and was called for an unsportsmanlike foul. Paulding’s free throws gave Oldenburg its first lead. Paulding added a triple in the last minute of the quarter to lift the visitors to a 21-24 lead after 10 minutes.

Tyrone Brazelton came off the bench to join Woods in lifting Prokom back on top, but a Foster triple made it 27-29. Woods hit back with a three of his own only for Majstorovic to power through the Prokom defense for a one-handed jam. Brazelton counters with a triple and Jagla scored on the offensive glass for the home side. After a timeout, an Oldenburg turnover gifted Ewing a slam and a 37-31 Prokom lead. Majstorovic worked his way for a basket inside, Foster hit a step-back three and Paulding added a free throw to knot the game again, 37-37. Perkovic put EWE back on top with 2 free throws, but Pape Sow tied it and Logan finished a break with a slam as Prokom regained the lead. Foster took charge with a three-pointer, a steal and a layup in the final minute to help Oldenburg to a 44-46 halftime advantage.

Paulding fed Perkovic for a basket inside, but Woods got 3 the hard way at the other end. Paulding drilled a triple from the corner, but Jagla came up big with a basket-plus-foul for the hosts. Jagla nailed a three-pointer as Prokom regained the lead, 53-52. Oldenburg was back on top in no time, however, as Majstorovic converted a three-point play and Paulding netted a free throw. Woods flipped the scoreboard again as the teams battled on every possession. Logan scored twice in transition to stretch the Prokom edge to 5, but Scekic’s basket-plus-foul cut the gap to 2 and Paulding’s fourth three of the night gave made it 61-62 heading into the deciding quarter.

Carter finished a tough basket in transition as the fourth quarter got underway. The Oldenburg defense stayed tough before Carter drove through the Prokom defense to make it 61-66, capping a 10-point run that started in the third quarter. Logan revived the Prokom spirits with a three-pointer, but Carter found a wide-open Scekic underneath and Foster hit a short jumper. Majstorovic nailed one from downtown to give the guests their largest lead, 65-73, but Brazelton stepped up with a clutch triple for the hosts. Scekic fed Majstorovic for a slam as Oldenburg was able to kill time and get good shots nearly every trip downcourt. Burrell made a pair of free throws, but more fine interior passing, this time Perkovic to Scekic, resulted in a basket-plus-foul and a 71-77 lead with three-and-a-half minutes to play. Woods came back for Prokom with a crucial three and after an EWE miss, Burrell brought his team back within 1 from the line. Free throws took on a prominent role as Paulding made 2 for Oldenburg and Woods 1 for Prokom. A long, but fruitless EWE attack was followed by a foul on Burrell, who tied the game at 79-79 with 94 seconds remaining. The rookie Carter stepped up for Oldenburg with a critical three-pointer. Woods tried to match him but missed, however Prokom was able to keep the ball and get it to Burrell for a slam with 48 seconds remaining. Paulding lifted Oldenburg on his shoulders with an off-balance three-pointer with 24 seconds left that made it a two-possession game, 81-85. Brazelton misfired from downtown and Foster sank 2 free throws with 16 seconds left to wrap up an impressive debut win for the German champs.