Rallying from a halftime deficit with a superior second half, the Fubon Braves last night upset the fourth-ranked Yulon Luxgens 78-70 at the Banciao Gymnasium in New Taipei City to nip a four-game slide.
Earl Barron had another big day at the office following Thursday night’s season-high 46-point outing with a game-high 35 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Braves past their foes.
“We are just trying to be more aggressive on the court; a lot of credit to my teammates for feeding me the ball tonight,” Barron said after the game about his recent scoring spree.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao
The former NBA star, who joined the Braves at the start of the season, is averaging more than 28 points per game for the season, more than four points better than the next-best player.
Seven quick points by Liam McMorrow, who took the ball strong to the hoop on several occasions in the opening frame gave the Automakers a 19-16 lead after one quarter of play.
Even though the Braves would improve their offensive effort in a 21-point second quarter with Barron netting eight, they still trailed Yulon by four at the half, due to a generous defense that allowed 22 points to the Automakers over the span.
Fubon managed to erase the deficit near the end of the third with a great defensive effort that held Yulon to 10 points on four-for-18 shooting from the field, and actually led for several minutes before turning the game into a seesaw battle midway through the fourth.
That was when Barron decided to take matters into his own hands as he erupted for 16 of his team’s final 24 points, including a pair of three-pointers and six free throws to put the Braves ahead for good.
Taiwan Beer 72, Pure Youth 66
Second-ranked Taiwan Beer cashed in on a five-minute scoring drought by top-ranked Pure Youth in the decisive fourth quarter to pull off a 72-66 upset win over the four-time defending champions in the second game in New Taipei last night.
The win not only nipped a four-game win streak for the Builders and extended the Brew Crew’s current win streak to three straight, but, more importantly, it reduced the Builders’ lead in the standings to a single game, with the regular season title still up for grabs.
The showdown between the top two squads in the league lived up to its hype, with upset-minded Taiwan Beer gaining the upper hand early by holding Pure Youth to a dismal 12 points in a 19-12 affair after one quarter of play.
After an evenly fought second quarter that saw the Taiwan Beer lead remain at seven, the Builders rolled off a 16-6 run in the third to lead it 48-45 with 4 minutes left to play in the quarter.
After Wu Min-hsien’s three-pointer tied the game at 50-50 late in the third, the game suddenly turned into a seesaw battle that saw the two teams trade leads smaller than four until a devastating five-minute scoring drought hit the Builders in the fourth to hand the game off to the Brew Crew.
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