Theis, Bamberg dominate second half to beat Paris


Brose Baskets Bamberg secured at least second place in Group A following a 56-67 road win over Paris Levallois on Tuesday night. Bamberg, which had already secured a Last 32 berth, improved to 6-2, while dropping Paris to 3-5 and into a dog fight for the two remaining spots in the next stage from the group. Paris jumped ahead with 10-0 first quarter run, but Josh Duncan connected twice from downtown in a 0-11 response from the visitors that tied that game at 16-16 early in the second quarter. A Bradley Wanamaker three-pointer gave Bamberg a 31-32 halftime lead. And the second half belonged to Bamberg, which opened with a 2-13 run and after Paris closed within 44-50, the visitors added 15 unanswered points between the third and fourth quarters to take a 21-point lead and run away with the victory. Daniel Theis shined with 17 points and 9 rebounds, teaming with Trevor Mbakwe’s 11 rebounds as to held Bamberg outrebound Paris 30-47. Janis Strelnieks added 14 points and Wanamaker finished with 8 points and 8 assists for the winners. Sharrod Ford led Paris with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks, while Maleye Ndoye scored 8 in defeat.

Ford made an immediate impact with a pair of blocks on defense and a slam at the other end. Blake Schilb’s triple put Paris up 5-1 before Elias Harris and Ryan Thompson drew Bamberg within 1. Three-point plays from Mike Green and Giovan Oniangue highlighted a 10- surge as the hosts soared to 16-5. Three consecutive threes from Duncan, Josh Shipp and Duncan again finished the first quarter with Paris ahead 16-14. Theis scored the first basket of the second quarter to cap the 0-11 Bamberg charge that tied the game at 16-16. Paris pushed in front again on a Dionte Christmas three that made it 23-18. Bamberg stayed hot from outside and back-to-back triples from Theis and Strelnieks gave the visitors their first lead of the game, 26-27. Ford quickly restored a slim edge to Paris and Landing Sane soon added a triple. But Wanamaker drained a three with a man in his face to give the visitors a 31-32 halftime edge.

Wanamaker assisted to Strelnieks and Theis for the first two baskets of the second half. Sane answered for the hosts, but Strelnieks followed with a three-point play followed by a steal and layup. Thompson added a triple before Theis capped a 2-13 Bamberg blitz for a 33-45 advantage. Ford scored on the offensive glass and Schilb drew the hosts within 8 only to see Theis knock down a triple. A pair of buckets from Ford carried Paris to within 41-48. And Green’s basket-plus-foul made it 44-50. But free throws by Theis and Wanamaker started a Bamberg run and Karsten Tadda’s three ended the quarter at 44-59. Strelnieks turned in a four-point play. The hosts had been held scoreless for more than five minutes when Mbakwe’s slam ended Bamberg’s 0-15 charge for a 21-point lead. The lead peaked at 45-67 before back-to-back threes from Ndoye and Xavier Corosine gave Paris hop. Ndoye added a bucket and later split free throws, but even without Bamberg scoring for nearly five minutes, the deficit proved too large to overcome.