Viktor Kovacevic scored 17 points to help lead the Gießen 46ers past the Nürnberg Falcons 83-57 on Friday in the 2. Basketball-Bundesliga ProA.
Playing without the ill Zach Cooks and the knee-injured Chris Carter, the home side relied on an eight-man rotation in front of 2,714 spectators at the Osthalle, Giessener Anzeiger reported.
The win moved Gießen to 41-34 at halftime before a decisive third quarter broke the game open. Head coach “Frenki” Ingjatovic pointed to his team’s perimeter defense as the turning point of the match.
“Our plan was, ihnen nicht so viele Dreier zu geben,” Ingjatovic said. “Dass wir ihnen nur 17 gaben, spricht für unsere gute Defense. Das war ein Faktor dafür, dass wir im dritten Viertel so dominant waren.”
The 46ers outscored Nürnberg 25-7 in the third period, turning a seven-point halftime edge into a comfortable blowout. Nürnberg coach Tim Black assessed the collapse bluntly after the final buzzer.
“Ich weiß nicht, ob wir im dritten Viertel überhaupt mitgespielt haben,” Black told Giessener Anzeiger.
Despite committing 23 turnovers—a statistic Ingjatovic questioned whether he had ever seen before in his ProA tenure—Gießen maintained control through balanced scoring and physical defense.
Robin Benzing led all scorers with 17 points, adding a series of assists including a pass to Kovacevic during the third-quarter run. Daniel Norl contributed 16 points while playing through knee pain.
“Das Knie fühlt sich soweit ganz gut aus,” Norl said. “Meine Performance heute war wichtig, um dem Team an einem Wochenende mit zwei Spielen viel Selbstvertrauen zu geben.”
