Ludwigsburg. James Woodard was injured for a long time. Since the beginning of December, the Guard has finally been able to play for the MHP giants Ludwigsburg and has already shown its class to some extent. How much is really in the 27-year-old could be seen on Monday evening. In the 88:81 victory of the Swabian Bundesliga basketball team over Brose Bamberg, the American contributed 28 points and thus led the giants to victory despite their changeable performance. “I’m slowly getting into my rhythm,” he said after the game at Magenta Sport.
Opportunities not used at the beginning
The Ludwigsburg showed a consistent defensive work at the start and forced the Bamberg to lose some ball. The so strong Woodard with a three-point and a three-point game in a row brought the guests 17: 6 in the lead (5th minute of the game). Bamberg made mistakes, but still scored well. So the Ludwigsburg didn’t manage to set themselves apart early on.
At 19:25, the second round started – with a furious start for the giants. First Jonah Radebaugh, then Tremmell Darden scored from a distance to 31:19, shortly afterwards Hulls added the 34:21.
But Bamberg remained dangerous and did not give in. Because the giants continued to drop simple points and the defensive performance also decreased as the game progressed, the Bambergers came up to 44:47 by Habzeit. The seconds before the break were especially turbulent when two wild threesomes found their way through the trap on either side.
At the beginning of the second half, the giants had to accept the 47:47 equalization and even fell behind for the first time. Only an 8-0 run with two three-pointers from Woodard and Hulls and a hit by Simons at 58:51 gave the giants some breathing space. But it remained exciting. Ludwigsburg stayed in the game mainly due to the strong three-man quota. Hulls proved that again at 65:57 in the 27th minute. By the final quarter, the Franks came up to 63:67.
In the final round it remained a tight affair. No team could break away. With two minutes to go, things didn’t look too good for the Swabians at first. First playmaker Radebaugh had to leave the field after his fifth foul, then Bamberg made the 81:81 equalizer.
But, led by the towering Woodard, Ludwigsburg did not allow any further points. Woodard himself contributed four more points, Simon set the end point with a converted free throw to 88:81.
