Taylor's late heroics lead Bayern past Dijon

FC Bayern Munich returned to the Eurocup in style by downing JDA Dijon 93-84 at home in Group K on Wednesday. Bayern joined Brose Baskets Bamberg atop the Group K standings, with Dijon and Union Olimpija Ljubljana right behind each at 0-1. Bo McCalebb paced the winners with 16 points. John Bryant added 15, Bryce Taylor had 14 while Vladimir Stimac had 11 for Bayern. Andre Harris led Dijon with 16 points. Erving Walker added 13, Steven Gray had 12, Ferdinand Fremon got 11 while Kris Joseph contributed 10 for the guests. Bayern erased an early deficit to get a 23-20 lead at halftime. Bayern extended its margin to 54-45 at halftime and then again to 75-65 after 30 minutes. Dijon rallied and a three-pointer by Gray brought the guests as close as 83-80. Taylor had 6 points in crunch time, allowing Bayern to get an important win.

Prenom and Walker shiend early to give Dijon a 5-10 margin. Taylor struck from downtown, Anton Gavel added a layup and Dusko Savanovic soon tied the game at 12-12. Savanovic capped a 10-0 run with a three-pointer for a 18-12 Bayern margin. Joseph followed a jumper with a three-point play but Heiko Schaffartzik and Jan Jagla restored a 23-17 margin. A triple by Aldo Curti fixed the score at 23-20 after 10 minutes. Jagla and Gavel struck from downtown in an 8-0 run which boosted Bayern's margin to double digits, 31-20. Walker hit a three-pointer and got help from Gray and Antoine Mendy to bring Dijon as close as 34-30. Lucca Staiger and Taylor joined the three-point shootout but Frenom, Harris and free throws by Zach Moss brought Dijon even closer, 42-41. Bayern found a new go-to guy in Stimac, who joined forced with Jagla and Paul Zipser to boost Bayern's margin to 54-45 at halftime. Free throws by Bryant and a layup by Savanovic gave Bayern a 58-48 margin right after the break. Harris and Gray stepped up for Dijon, however, and Walker soon made it a four-point game, 60-56. Stimac followed free throws with a layup and Gavel soon gave Bayern fresh air at 68-58. Curti and Walker tried to get Bayern closer but McCalebb and Staiger kept the hosts way ahead, 75-65, after 30 minutes. Mandy and Harris fueled a 0-6 run which gave Dijon hope at 77-71. Savanovic hit free throws and McCalebb added a layup but three-pointers by Joseph and Gray brought Dijon within striking distance, 83-80, with 3 minutes left. Taylor had 6 points in a 10-2 run which Bryant capped with a jumper to seal the outcome, 93-82, already in the final minute.