UdeC punch first-ever ticket to Quarterfinals, Minas drop 111 points in huge win

UdeC made history and qualified for their first Quarterfinals in the Basketball Champions League Americas after eliminating Obras, while Minas put on a show, winning by 38 points.

Obras 75 – 87 UdeC

In the third and final meeting between these two teams, UdeC led for 35 minutes on the way to a 12-point victory that clinched their spot in the Quarterfinals of the BCLA for the first time.

The game kicked off with a high-scoring first quarter where the teams combined for nine made three-pointers, but UdeC had the slight advantage. UdeC’s Jerry Evans Jr. scored 10 of his 15 points in the quarter and shot a perfect 4-of-4 from the field.

After trailing by as many as nine points, Obras ended the second quarter on an 11-2 run to tie the game at 45 heading to halftime. The third quarter is where the game opened up in favor of UdeC. They grabbed a 10-point lead thanks to a 24-14 quarter.

Obras tried to fight back in the final quarter, but they couldn’t chip away at their deficit and ultimately fell short, as UdeC kept their foot on the gas to close out the game.

Sebastian Carrasco finished with a game-high 20 points for UdeC, connecting on 5-of-7 shots from three-point range and also dished out 6 assists. Reyshawn Terry recorded 11 points and a team-high 7 rebounds.

Evans was the most efficient player of the game with 18 efficiency. The 32-year-old shot 5-of-6 from the field (3-of-3 from two-point) and also grabbed 5 rebounds in only 20 minutes on the court.

UdeC swiped away 8 steals and shot 60.9 percent (14-of-23) from three-point, the highest percentage by a team in a single game this season in the BCLA. UdeC also made seven more free-throws than Obras.

Obras were led by a trio of players in defeat, as Pedro Barral (18 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists), Isaac Copeland (13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals) and Joaquin Rodriguez (13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists) combined for roughly 58.7 percent of the team’s scoring.

UdeC improve to 2-3 in Group D and have advanced to the Quarterfinals with the win. The Chilean club will close group play against Sesi Franca (5-0) on Sunday February 5.

Obras, meanwhile, finish group play 1-5 and have been eliminated with the loss.

Bigua 73 – 111 Minas

Minas led the game for all but 2:31 and the final score showed just how dominant they were in their blowout win over Bigua. 111 points are the most scored by a team in the BCLA this season.

While the first quarter had a few lead changes and was only a four-point margin, Minas eventually separated themselves for a 25-point lead in the second quarter as a result of a huge quarter, outscoring Bigua 38-17 and knocking down 10 threes.

Three players for Minas were already in double figures after the first half of action with Shaquille Johnson leading the way with 19 points.

It was more of the same throughout the rest of the game in the second half, as Minas won every quarter and had the biggest lead of 41 points.

Johnson paced Minas with a game-high 27 points along with 7 assists and 4 rebounds. The 32-year-old guard could barely miss tonight, making 8-of-9 shots from the field and 7-of-8 shots from three. His seven threes are tied for the most by a player this season.

Along with their 20 made shots from beyond the arc which are the second-most in a BCLA game this season, Minas also got out in transition to score 37 fastbreak points. Minas’ bench also outscored Bigua’s bench 45-20, as Isaac Hamilton led the bench unit with 19 points.

Alexei Patricio was the second-highest scorer off the bench for Minas with 9 points, while Eden Ewing and Alexandre Paranhos also chipped in 8 points and 6 points, respectively.

Minas assisted on 31 of their 45 made field goals and their 31 assists are tied for the third most in the BCLA this season.

Luis Santos had another good game for Bigua and nearly missed a double-double with 22 points and 9 rebounds, while making all but two of his 11 shot attempts.

Minas, who already clinched their spot in the Quarterfinals, improve to 3-2 in Group B and the Brazilian club will close out this stage of the competition and look to keep the momentum going against Quimsa (4-1) on Sunday February 8.

Bigua, who were already eliminated from the competition, finish group play 1-5.