A big fourth quarter lifted Great Britain to an 81-73 win over Germany in the EuroBasket 2021 qualifiers in Newcastle.
In what was a relatively close encounter throughout, GB broke the game open late in the fourth quarter with back-to-back dunks from Myles Hesson and Ovie Soko, which was followed by triples from Ben Mockford and Luke Nelson to give the hosts a 79-70 lead with 1:04 left.
A game-changing 10-2 run by the Brits left Germany calling a timeout, but it was too late.
Nelson led GB with 26 points with Ovie Soko adding a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds but there were contributions galore with Mockford in particular creating a spark off the bench on what was a job well done.
Germany, who breezed past France on Friday were outdone by Great Britain’s quickness, ball movement and vastly improved defensive rotation, something that they lacked in their defeat to Montenegro in their EuroBasket qualifying opener.
Andreas Obst was a one-man band for the Germans with 24 points, but he was the only player in double figures. Veteran Robin Benzing added eight but the visitors were guilty of a poor night from the field by their standards, shooting just 36 percent.
EuroBasket 2021 qualifying results:
Sunday
Russia 77-67 North Macedonia
Serbia 90-94 Georgia
Slovenia 85-78 Austria
Ukraine 60-62 Hungary
Spain 69-80 Poland
Estonia 81-87 Italy
Switzerland 64-69 Finland
Monday
Israel 87-63 Romania
Bulgaria 110-104 Latvia (OT)
Denmark 72-88 Belgium
Lithuania 97-89 Czech Republic
France 85-66 Montenegro
Netherlands 59-69 Croatia
Sweden 87-80 Turkey
Bosnia & Herzegovia 65-70 Greece
Photo: FIBA
