Dinamo Sassari shoots its way to the eighthfinals

Needing a 12-point win to advance, Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari buried 18 three-pointers and used a huge fourth quarter to defeat Brose Baskets Bamberg 102-84, claiming a spot in the eighthfinals. Both teams finish with 3-3 record in Group J, but Sassari overcame 83-72 Round 2 loss to win the head-to-head tiebreaker and clinch the second place, while Bamberg is eliminated. Holding a slim 73-71 lead after three quarters, Sassari hit 5 triples on its first 6 trips down the floor in the fourth quarter to put together a 15-1 run, en route to a big victory. Caleb Green scored a career-high 32 points to pace the winners, while Drake Diener shot 6 of 7 from behind the arc for 23 points. Travis Diener netted 14, and Manuel Vanuzzo 12 points, as both players shot three-pointers 4-for-6. Omar Thomas chipped in with 11 points for Sassari. D’Or Fischer scored 20 for Bamberg. Anton Gavel had 18 points, Rakim Sanders bagged 17, while Elias Harris had 10 in defeat.

There was plenty of offense from the start, as Sassari hit four triples to open the game. Drake Diener hit two, while Travis Diener and Caleb Green one apiece. But it was Bamberg in front 12-13 with baskets from Harris, Gavel, and a triple from Casey Jacobsen. The hosts, however, hit 7 triples in the first quarter, Caleb Green his second before Giacomo Devecchi and Vanuzzo buried shots behind 6.75 arc for 25-23 after the first quarter. Bamberg replied in the second quarter through Fischer and Sanders, with the latter hit a triple for 29-30. Gavel also hit a triple for the visitors, but Caleb Green nailed it for the hosts, as offenses dominated on both ends of the floor and teams traded leads. Vanuzzo and Sanders traded triples in the final 25 seconds of the half, and Sassari held 53-51 halftime lead.

Fischer and Sanders continued being Bamberg’s go-to options after the break, but leads went back and forth as Travis Diener and Caleb Green scored on the other end. Zach Wright made it 66-69, but Drake Diener finished the third quarter scoring 7 points, including a triple for 73-71. The same player opened the fourth quarter with a triple, and after Vanuzzo nailed one of his, Drake Diener followed it on the next possession with his sixth shot from downtown, 82-72. Sassari’s run continued with couple more triples, from Vanzuzzo and Travis Diener, in total four triples in as many trips down the floor, and 88-72. Gavel scored a pair of layups, getting Bamberg to a 12-point deficit, but Caleb Green strung together 6 points, and after a dunk from Sanders, Travis Diener nailed a triple for 97-78. Fischer’s put-back kept the visitors’ hope alive, but Sassari sealed it from the foul line to set up a date with Alba Berlin.