MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg edges Gran Canaria after overtime

MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg bounced back in overtime to beat Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas 92-89 on Tuesday at MHP Arena. Brad Newley’s three on the buzzer completed a late Gran Canaria comeback to tie it at 81-81 after 40 minutes, but a 7-0 run in the extra session put the hosts in position to win. The victory left the two teams even atop Group B with 5-2 records, though Gran Canaria remains ahead of Ludwigsburg on a tiebreaker thanks to its 20-point victory when they met in Round 2. Tekele Cotton paced the winners with 20 points and Mustafa Shakur added 19 points and 5 assists. Jon Brockman contributed 14 points and 11 rebounds and Rocky Trice scored 10 before fouling out. Kevin Pangos carried Gran Canaria with 31 points on 5-of-8 three-point shooting and 10 free throws without a miss plus 6 assists. Newley added 14 points and Alen Omic scored 11.

Ovidijus Galdikas scored first and Newley added a three in a strong Gran Canaria start. Brockman scored the hosts’ first 6 points to get Ludwigsburg within 1. Shawn Huff put the home team up 11-10 after four minutes. The lead changed hands a number of times with Sasu Salin putting Gran Canaria up 13-15 and Cotton returning the favor for Ludwigsburg. Chris McNaughton lifted the hosts to 21-20 after 10 minutes. Newley scored a three-point play to start the second quarter, but Trice, Cotton and McNaughton put the hosts back ahead. Newley and Pangos each brought Gran Canaria within 1, but Huff and Shakur boosted Ludwigsburg’s lead to 7. Brad Loesing’s triple made it 44-36 at halftime.

Cotton split free throws to make it a 9-point game early in the second half. Pangos sandwiched a pair of threes around one from Shakur to ignite the visitors. Cotton restored a 9-point cushion with his first triple. Gran Canaria roared back with a Pangos three, back-to-back Oriol Pauli triples and a Xavi Rabaseda layup, which capped a 0-11 charge. Brockman tied it at 55-55 through three quarters. The game was as close as could be in the fourth quarter, which featured five lead changes and six ties. It was 75-74 after a pair of Pangos free throws with two minutes to go. Alen Omic’s basket-plus-foul tied it a 77-77 with 1:31 to play. Royce O’Neale free throws put the hosts back ahead with 43 second left and Pangos missed at the other end. Shakur iced the game with a pair of free throws with 13 seconds to go that made it a two-possession game. Jason Boone rejected Salin’s shot, but fouled out on the rebound. Omic made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second. Gran Canaria got the rebound and Newley tied it with a three on the buzzer.

Free throws by Eulius Baez and Pangos kept the momentum with Gran Canaria, but Ludwigsburg was soon in control after a basket by Cotton, three-pointer from Shakur and free throws from Brockman made it 88-84. Pangos broke the 30-point barrier for his night with 2 from the line, however 2 free throws each by O’Neale and Cotton made it a 6-point difference with 18 seconds left. Pauli nailed a three in the closing seconds, but there was no second miracle for the visitors.