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GB On Verge Of Second Round
Turning Point: Leading by 10 late in the opening frame (23-13), Germany became complacent, as Great Britain fired off the next 11 points get the wind in their sails and take a one-point lead on an Andrew Lawrence lay-up, 24-23. Game Hero: Lawrence ended with a game-high 23 points, but his performance was trumped by the all-round showing of Myles Hesson who finished with 21 points and 11 boards - seven of them on the offensive glass. Stat's Don't Lie: Germany failed to respect the ball, giving up 15 turnovers which translated into 19 British points. Meanwhile, the Brits only gave up six points due to poor ball handling. With 23 points, Andrew Lawrence was integral in taking Great Britain a step close to the final 12 Joe Prunty has taken Great Britain to the edge of one the biggest achievements in their basketball history, following their 81-74victory over Germany on Sunday afternoon. Tenacious rebounding, persistent defence and composure saw GB move to the brink of the Second Round with emerging playersAndrew Lawrence and Myles Hesson taking the lead role as their side overturned an early nine-point deficit to improve their record to 2-1. "I thought we did a great job on keeping them in check," said Prunty. "On the offensive end, we got a lot of positive contributions from a lot of people. We had just seven turnovers which is a great effort. Andrew played his best game shooting well, and showing some great defence. Myles Hesson was great again. And Dan Clark played extremely hard, drawing a lot of attention out on the floor." Alex King sparked an early German surge, scoring nine of his eleven points in a three-minute spell in the opening quarter in an 11-2 burst that saw his side go 23-13 in front. However a three-pointer from Clark ignited Britain's challenge and they compiled 11 unanswered points to put their Group A rivals under pressure, both sides trading runs before Kieron Achara hit a three which pushed GB 42-38 in front at half-time. In the second half, the advantage was traded six times. Germany held GB without a field goal for seven minutes but Hesson scrapped in the paint, drawing fouls, making shots and putting his side ahead for good with 5:09 left in the third. Lawrence was stellar, hitting nine points in the fourth with Hesson in support and although Tibor Pleiss, who had a team-high 20 points and 14 rebounds, cut the German deficit to 73-69 with two minutes left, Devon van Oostrum's late cameo, plus the steady hand of Lawrence, saw the British to safety. "It was a hard fought win," said Lawrence. "We really needed it. I'm really proud of the way everyone stepped up today. I'm really proud of everyone." For Germany, there was disappointment that their fine start in Slovenia has not led to more. "We had a surprise first big win against France which we didn't expect," said coach Frank Menz. "Then we played all the team and we knew that would be tough for a young and experienced team. We've had three close games and we couldn't win one which is disappointing. "We weren't doing so badly. But our biggest problem has been turnovers and not getting tough offensive rebounds. Today we had 14 offensive rebounds but seven turnovers more than Great Britain." Report taken from Eurobasket website. Comments are closed.
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January 2018
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