Anthony Cowan delivered in key moments to put Promitheas into quarters
Anthony Cowan recorded his second double-double of the season to inspire Promitheas Patras to an 89-75 victory over Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse. The hosts secured their fifth home win in a row to seal qualification to the 7DAYS EuroCup Quarterfinals after dominating parts of the game at Dimitris Tofalos Arena on Wednesday night.
Cowan stepped up in crucial moments to ensure that Promitheas's hard work didn't come undone. He finished the game with 20 points and 10 assists for a PIR of 32 – his third-best of the campaign. The Promitheas guard went 1-for-3 on two-pointers and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line, while drilling all 5 of his attempts from behind the arc. The only time he made more three-pointers this season was in Round 17 when he registered 6 triples and scored 38 points to lead Promitheas to an 84-81 win over Paris Basketball. His 10 assists were his second-highest total this season after recording 11 in Round 16 against London Lions.
Despite leading Promitheas in points scored on Wednesday, Cowan didn’t net his first points until late in the second quarter. In fact, he opened his account with 2:16 to play, when he sank his first three-pointer just before registering his sixth assist in the game to tee up Arnoldas Kulboka for his third straight triple and establish his team’s largest lead of the game at that point, 40-26.
Bourg tried to bounce back after the interval and reduced the deficit to 41-38, but Cowan came to the fore again to take his tally to 8 points for a Promitheas 46-40 lead. The visitors demonstrated their die-hard spirit and fought back to go within 58-55 with less than a minute to play in the third quarter. Yet, Cowan had ice in his veins and scored his fourth triple to help Promitheas take a 61-55 lead into the last quarter. This was when Bourg made its last comeback attempt, with Jordan Floyd netting 3 free-throws to trim the deficit down to 78-71, but Cowan stepped forward once more from three-point land to kill the game.