Great Britain’s Senior Men pulled off an impressive result as they recorded an 81-73 victory over Germany for their first win in the EuroBasket 2021 qualifiers.
Over 2,500+ fans packed in at the Eagles Community Arena in Newcastle to witness a memorable win for GB as they bounced back from losing 81-74 against Montenegro on Friday.
Luke Nelson starred with a game-high 26 points, while Ovie Soko weighed in with a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds with several key contributions throughout the roster.
GB made a much better start than they did in Podgorica with Nelson scoring six points in an 8-4 opening. The visitors responded with a string of threes in a 16-5 spell to surge into a seven-point lead, but back-to-back scores from Soko kept GB in close proximity as they trailed 17-22 after the first quarter.
Defense was turned into offence at the start of the second with a huge denial from Gabe Olaseni leading to the Nelson triple in the midst of a dominant period for the home side.
Access denied! @agolaseni with the big block before @myleshesson gets it to @LukeNelson95_6 for the triple! #Hoopsfix #BritishBasketball pic.twitter.com/szDB3eA54F
— Hoopsfix (@Hoopsfix) February 24, 2020
Nelson would score 12 points in the run to propel GB into a 35-30 advantage. The 24-year-old pushed his side ahead with a running floater before capping a 18-6 spell with a four-point play after being fouled, whilst connecting from downtown.
Whilst finding other ways to contribute, Hesson had endured a frustrating shooting night before rising up for the big one-handed throwdown from the Soko feed to ensure GB held onto a lead, going into half-time up 40-39.
.@myleshesson finishes strong off the pretty backdoor feed from @OvieSoko! #Hoopsfix #BritishBasketball pic.twitter.com/eeWd7zsFlY
— Hoopsfix (@Hoopsfix) February 24, 2020
GB only had a single point from the bench in a first half in which Nelson and Soko combined for 29 of their 40 points.
The lead changed hands multiple times in the early stages of when play resumed with Nelson moving to 20 points to tie the game at 46-46 before Germany reeled off eight straight to take control – uncontested from the perimeter.
Dan Clark knocked down a three out of the timeout to stop the rot and the gap was just five points heading into the final 10 minutes at 56-61.
GB then found an extra burst from their rotation with Ben Mockford knocking down a three to highlight an effective cameo with Clark following suit – after a layup from Carl Wheatle – to make it a 64-63 advantage.
Another wide-open three from Germany capped a mini 5-0 burst, but GB stayed with it and re-took the lead as Nelson find his range again from downtown with 4:17 remaining.
Consecutive dunks from Soko and Hesson ignited the crowd as they sensed victory with Mockford making plays at both ends to set up the latter of the two before firing in his second three to make it 76-70.
Nelson followed on the next possession with a dagger and GB were able to close out the win in the final minute for an eight-point victory.
– GB’s starters were again Okereafor, Nelson, Hesson, Soko & Olaseni
– The last competitive meeting saw GB win 81-74 at EuroBasket 2013
– This was the first GB game played at Newcastle’s Eagles Community Arena
– France beat Montenegro earlier on Monday meaning all four teams are at 1-1
– Ashley Hamilton and Gareth Murray were DNPs – with the same 12 from Friday
– The next window takes place in November, 2020 with a home double-header
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