Spirou Charleroi defeated Brose Baskets Bamberg 75-61

Spirou Charleroi breathed life into its Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16 hopes with a 75-61 win over Brose Baskets Bamberg on Wednesday at the Spiroudome. Demond Mallet scored a Euroleague career-high 26 points and Brent Wright posted 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Belgian champs to a crucial victory and a 3-5 record in Group B. However head coach Giovanni Bozzi’s men will have to win at least one and maybe both of their remaining games – against Olympiacos and at Real Madrid – to reach the next stage. Bamberg droped its fifth straight game and fell to 2-6 and even if it wins its remaining games – against Madrid and at Unicaja – there is no guarantee that it will be enough. Bamberg led for most of the first two-and-a-half quarters, but Spirou used a 14-0 run to take control and managed to hold off the German champs the rest of the way. In the end, Mallet’s hot hand also gave his team the head-to-head tiebreaker against Bamberg – if needed – by scoring the game’s final 7 points. Tibor Pleiss paced Brose Baskets with 13 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks. Kyle Hines added 12 points, Predrag Suput scored 11 and Brian Roberts had 10 in defeat.

Casey Jacobsen opened the scoring with a three-pointer, but the hosts looked for Daniel Santiago inside and he scored on consecutive possessions to tie the score. Suput scored before Pleiss made his presence felt with a pair of blocked shots, a pretty turn around hook shot and drawing an offensive foul from Santiago. Pleiss then scored a basket-plus-foul to lift his team to 3-11. And Anton Gavel sank a three to cap a 0-11 run. Wright gave Spirou hope with a three only to see Pleiss continue to showcase his complete arsenal with a three-pointer. Wright answered with a pull-up jumper and Andre Riddick threw down a slam at one end and a block at the other as the hosts fought their way back. A basket-plus-foul for Wright on the offensive glass cut the gap to 13-17. Hines scored his first point for the visitors from the line and Roberts popped in a jumper. A Mallet layup and a free throw by Riddick made it 16-20 through one quarter.

The second quarter got off to a slow start with both teams picking up a few fouls before Chris Hill drained a three to bring the hosts within 1. Then Hill got a lucky bounce off the top of the backboard for a jumper-and-foul as Charleroi took its first lead. Hines scored on Bamberg’s next two trips down the floor to put the visitors back on top. Suput looked sharp on offense as he pushed Bamberg ahead with three baskets, though Spirou stayed close on free throws from Dwayne Broyles and Wright. Mallet drilled a three to narrow the deficit to 3, but Jacobsen answered from downtown on the next play. The tandem of Pleiss and Suput stretched Bamberg’s lead to 31-39. Joseph Gomis scored his first points for Spirou from the line and Wright hit a short jumper to bring his team to 35-39 at halftime.

Pleiss remained a bright spot for Bamberg with a free throw and then a tip-in to start the second half. Mallet refused to let Bamberg pull away, scoring and then spotting Riddick for a basket-plus-foul to cut the gap to 40-42. Gomis drilled a three to put the home team back on top and a wave of baskets by Mallet, Justin Hamilton and Wright capped a 14-0 run and made it 49-42. Reyshawn Terry stepped up for Bamberg with a three-pointer, but Mallet had a hot hand and kept Spirou cruising. Hines managed to bring the visitors within 54-49 by the end of the quarter.

Malllet stretched the lead to 8 early in the fourth quarter and then Hamilton made it a double-digit affair. Brose Baskets looked to regain some momentum when Jacobsen found Hines for a strong alley-oop slam, but Wright banked in a three-pointer at the other end. Some sloppy midcourt play led to an exciting change midway through the quarter, but neither team capitalized and Spirou sat on its lead. Broyles made it 64-51 from the line as Bamberg’s hopes started to fade. Roberts scored a three-point play on the break and penetrated for another basket to give Brose a chance, but Gomis sank free throws to make it 66-56. As victory for Bamberg became unlikely, protecting the 10-point mark it won by in Germany became a goal. Gavel and Roberts managed to bring the visitors under the 10-point mark. Bamberg got a break when Hill missed twice from the line and then Roberts made it 68-61 with 47 seconds left. However Mallet was cool with 4 free throws to push the advantage to 11. And after Maurice Stuckey missed from downtown, Mallet capped a big night with a three in the closing seconds to the delight of the crowd.