Hamann leads Bayern to victory

Audi Dome, Munich - Steffen Hamann scored 22 points as FC Bayern Basketball defeated BBC Bayreuth 73-65 in a Bavarian derby edition of a Beko BBL game.  Hamann also added 4 assists and 3 steals as he helped Bayern out of an early deficit. 

BBC started the game on an 8-0 run but could not stop the Bayern captain from scoring six points and keeping the home side close.  Bayreuth led 21-18 after the first quarter thanks to a buzzer beater by Corey Stokes.  Bayern's head coach Dirk Bauermann did not agree that the shot was on time, and his argument with the refs earned him a technical foul.

Bayreuth converted both free throws at the beginning of the 2nd quarter and later built a 28-20 lead.  Captain Hamann then took over, hitting a three pointer that sparked his club to outscore the visitors 12-3 to take their first lead of the night, 32-31, and into the locker room at halftime, 34-33.

But Hamann was not done.  Immediately at the restart, he drove to the hoop for a slam dunk.  Minutes later, with the scored tied at 39, Hamann gave Bayern the lead for good with a score, then proceeded to steal the next possesion, drove to the hoop, scored, was fouled, and converted a free-throw for a three-point-play and a 44-39 lead.  He finished off the 3rd quarter with a couple of free throws and gave Munich the all important 53-49 lead going into the final period.

It was now up to the rest of the team to hold the lead.  Matters got testy, when Jared Homan was fouled hard by former Bayern player Beckham Wyrick and Homan took exception.  His retaliation earned an ejection from the game.  Cooler heads prevailed, as Munich went on a 10-0 run, including 6 points from Aleksandar Nadjfeji, that effectively ended the game.

Robin Benzing hit 7 of 8 free throws to keep Bayreuth from coming back, he would finish with 15 points.

"In the 2nd half, Bayern defended real well that we simply couldn't run our offense," admitted Bayreuth head coach Marco van den Berg.  "We are not familiar playing under such pressure.  We tried, but the difference between the two teams was apparent."

Bauerman could not agree more.  "Bayreuth put us under pressure early that we didn't expect, but our defense brought us back."

Bayern will return to the road and hope the new year brings new results away from the friendly confines of the Audi Dome.  The Ballers head west to take on ratiopharm ulm on January 4th, tip-off at 18:15 CET.