Basketball

Obekpa, Crawford spark SLAC to 2-2 with a game left in Sahara Conference

Obekpa finished 13 points and 11 rebounds, Marcus Crawford, who finished the opening quarter without contributing a single point, owned the following quarter

When a traditionally defensive player like Chris Obekpa finishes 3-for-3 from the behind arc it tells the story of SLAC’s 90-74 win over Ferroviário da Beira on Saturday at Dakar Arena.

Five SLAC players converted at least one three-pointer each to help the Guinean champions improve to 2-2 in the Sahara Conference with one game left.

The Conakry-based team finished the game with 13-for-23 from behind the three-point line.

Obekpa finished 13 points and 11 rebounds, Marcus Crawford, who finished the opening quarter without contributing a single point, owned the following quarter.

The sharpshooter converted four three-pointers to lead all the players in scoring with 15 points at the break. Eventually, Crawford finished with a game-high 23 points.

Dane Miller Jr. contributed 14 points and eight assists; Josh Nzeakor had 19 points and Ibrahima Fofana sank his two three-point attempts to go with 12 points.

“It feels good,” Miller Jr. said.

“After our last game against Rwanda [REG] we feel like we should have won that game. We came out with a lot of energy, our chemistry worked out, we locked in, and we held each other accountable. When we were yelling at one player, we didn’t’ take it personal, we came out and played together.”

“Some guys were scoring, other guys were playing defense. It was all about team game. It was a great game for us.”

Beira’s slow start to the game contrasted with SLAC’s aggressive mode on both ends of the floor.

SLAC led by 18 points – their largest lead in the first half – before settling to a 51-36 lead at the break.

The Mozambican champions struggled to find answers to SLAC’s game plan.

The 36 points were the fewest Beira scored in the first half over the first three Sahara Conference games.

With SLAC in total control of their destiny they seemed to have relaxed and Beira took advantage of the situation to cut the deficit to single digits (67-58) with 9:20 left in the game, but it was a short-lived comeback as SLAC readjusted to extend their lead to double digits again.

Ismael Nurmamade led Beira with a team-high 14 points off the bench, Randy Onwuasor contributed 13 points, and, for the first time, Beira’s leading scorers Jermel Kennedy and William Perry scored less that ten points each.

Kennedy and Perry finished with nine points apiece as Beira dropped to 1-3 with a game left in the Sahara Conference.

Beira rookie Reuben Chinyelu finished with four points and two rebounds in 13:47 minutes.

Talking to the BAL.nba.com, he said: “If I had more opportunities to help my team, I would have been able to dominate more for the team. I am happy with what I did. I need more time like this,” said the 18-year-old.

“The situation with our team is that we are in a tight spot right now, but I definitely know that we’re going to kick off the next one. We are going to have a win, definitely it’s a must-win,” said the NBA Academy Africa player.

Being 2-2 with one game left, Miller Jr. said: “It’s absolutely great to be in this situation after two straights that shouldn’t have happened. Maybe we could have been 3-1 now. Being in a situation where we control our destiny, the biggest thing was to get the win, that’s what we got.”

Asked about the prospect of advancing to the playoffs in May in Kigali, Miller Jr, replied: “This is my first time playing in the BAL, I don’t know how it goes. But from what coach said, all we have to do is win. Once we win these games, everything will handle itself. We’ll go and see how it happens, but definitely I think we’ll make it, for sure.”

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