Bank of Taiwan last night nipped a three-game slide with an 80-69 win over the previously red-hot Yulon Luxgens at the Banciao Gymnasium in New Taipei City to close out the week on a high note.
Luke Nevill led all scorers with 25 points, including a clutch two midway through the fourth after the Automakers had reduced the deficit to as close as one to give the Bankers an insurmountable 67-59 advantage at that point.
“We stayed composed in the fourth quarter when we needed the most to keep [Yulon] from turning the game on us,” Nevill said after the game.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
The Bankers led by as many as 20 late in the second quarter before allowing the Luxgens back in the game with a horrendous third against a two-three zone defense by the Automakers.
“I tried to stretch the floor by making [James Tyler] come out to play me, which helped us a lot,” Nevill added after the game.
His timely surge in the fourth prevented the Bankers from becoming the victim of a 20-point comeback.
Eight straight points by Chen Kuo-wei in the opening frame set the tone early in the game, as the Bankers took a surprising 18-11 lead against a Yulon squad that had won three in a row heading into the contest.
Bank of Taiwan would roll off a 12-0 run to start the second quarter, with Nevill accounting for 10 of the dozen points before the Luxgens answered with six straight points by Chou Po-chen to keep it a 13-point game, 46-33, at the half.
The Bankers managed to maintain a double-digit cushion early in the third before Hu Kai-hsiang erupted for a dozen points in a 23-11 run by Yulon to pull within one of the Financial Wizards.
That was as close as Yulon got, despite several opportunities to take the lead in the fourth, giving the Bankers the needed mental boost and shaving time off the game clock to stage the mild upset win.
Four players scored in double digits, with Chang Po-sheng and Chen Kuo-wei combining for 35 off the Bankers’ bench to complement Nevill’s game-high 25.
Failure on the part of the Luxgens to cash in on the Bankers’ miscues early in the fourth after they had reduced the deficit to one ultimately cost them the game, as they trailed nearly the entire way to lose in disheartening fashion.
Tigers 88, Braves 80
In the second game in New Taipei City last night, the Dacin Tigers rallied from a halftime deficit with a dominant third quarter and held off a fierce comeback attempt by the Fubon Braves late in the fourth to escape with an 88-80 victory.
Lin Kuan-lun put on an offensive clinic in the second half by nailing several tough shots with Fubon defenders in his face to provide the Cats just enough tenacity to sneak by their foes.
His solid effort denied an otherwise outstanding showing by the Braves’ Earl Barron, who netted a season-high 37 points and 20 rebounds in a losing cause.
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