Majestic second-half defense propelled the French side to an emphatic home win
Bourg dismantles Lietkabelis 79-66 to remain in postseason picture
Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse improved to 7-7 in Group B of the BKT EuroCup and snapped a three-game skid after a thoroughly deserved 79-66 home win over 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys, which dropped to 4-9 and dented its slim hopes of reaching the postseason.
Jordan Usher paced Bourg with 17 points and 9 boards while Brandon Jefferson and Xavier Castaneda chipped in with 11 points each for the French team, which stifled the visitors with ironclad defense to wipe out a 34-36 halftime deficit.
Oleksandr Kovliar netted 16 points for Lietkabelis and Georgios Kalaitzakis added 12 for the Lithuanian team, which was undone by woeful shooting from downtown (2 of 18) as well as 16 offensive rebounds from Bourg – twice as many as the visitors managed.
Game Videos
The first half produced a low-scoring rollercoaster as Lietkabelis carved out an early 3-6 lead before Bourg turned the tables to nose ahead 17-14 at the end of the first quarter. The home team then surged ahead 26-19, only for the Lietkabelis to hit back and take a slender lead at halftime, courtesy of 9 Bourg turnovers.
Despite its poor shooting, Lietkabelis was still ahead late in the third quarter, 49-50, before an 8-2 Bourg streak turned the tide for good.
Having held on for a 60-55 advantage early in the fourth, the hosts went on a 12-2 run to put the game beyond Lietkabelis, as Bourg profited from a barrage of offensive boards in down stretch.
The home side also poured an array of crunch triples while Lietkabelis was denied open looks at the other end, with Kovliar featuring as the only visiting player to hit anything from deep. Lietkabelis also struggled to take care of the ball, dishing out a mere 14 assists while committing 15 turnovers against Bourg’s aggressive defense.
Bourg’s dominance was illustrated by an impressive total of 43 rebounds as well as 11 three-pointers, compensating for 16 turnovers in a rugged contest whose outcome will have pleased the home fans.