Behind a 27-point effort by Liu Cheng, Taiwan Beer tripped up the Yulon Luxgens 76-71 at the Banciao Gymnasium in New Taipei City last night to nip a three-game slide.
The emerging go-to guy for the Brew Crew was at his best when it mattered the most as he netted nine of his team’s 20 points in the decisive fourth quarter to shake off a feisty Yulon, who rallied from as many as nine down in the third quarter and actually traded leads with Taiwan Beer with less than two minutes to play before letting the game slip away.
“We really turned the heat up on defense against their outside shooters in the second half and that was the difference in the game,” Liu told reporters after the game.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The Brew Crew fell victim to a perimeter attack by the Automakers, who converted nine of 15 attempt from inside the three-point arc in a 23-17 run in the third quarter to make a game of it, before a Liu-led Taiwan Beer defense held them to six of 22 from the field in the fourth quarter.
The highly anticipated showdown between the third and fourth-ranked squads in the league saw Taiwan Beer enjoy the upper hand early on, with Liu and Patrick O’Bryant combining for 12 of their team’s 19 points to lead the Luxgens 19-16 after the first quarter.
Eight more points from O’Bryant in the second quarter helped the Brew Crew extend their lead to seven, 39-32 at halftime.
The Automakers managed to erase the deficit with a 10-2 run early in third quarter, thanks to six quick points from Liam McMorrow.
The hired gun from Canada, who is on his second stint in Taiwan after spending a season with Bank of Taiwan two years ago, ended up with 11 points in the quarter and 26 on the night to lead his team’s scoring.
Five quick points from Liu in an 8-0 run by Taiwan Beer at the start of the fourth quarter gave the Brew Crew a 63-55 advantage, a cushion that it took the Automakers the next six minutes to erase, with McMorrow doing his bit from inside the paint and Chou Shih-yuan nailing a pair of three-pointers to lead the way.
Yulon actually held a brief lead with less than three minutes to play after a long two-pointer by Lu Cheng-ju, before Liu took over and scored his team’s next four points to give Taiwan Beer the lead for good.
Taiwan Beer next take on the Fubon Braves on Friday, while the Yulon Luxgens are due to face Kinmen Kaoliang on Thursday.
Pure Youth 77, Kinmen Kaoliang 69
Top-ranked Pure Youth Construction also bounced back from a three-loss week last week with a 77-69 win over Kinmen Kaoliang in the second game in New Taipei City last night to cap a perfect 2-0 week.
Doug Creighton drained five three-pointers in a team-high 21-point outing for the Builders, who could not put the game away through three quarters of play, with 16 turnovers over the same span.
However, with the game on the line, they managed to pour in 25 in the decisive fourth quarter to come away with the big win.
Pure Youth Construction are next due to take on Bank of Taiwan on Thursday.
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