McGhee and Mokoka praise team focus after gritty 68-72 road win
Table-topping Bourg works hard to edge Lions in London
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 8 of 18
Regular Season
group b
London LionsLDN
6872
Cosea JL Bourg-en-BresseJLB
group b
Overview
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“I think we wanted to play with more intensity,” said Darius McGhee. “When we play intense, we have fun and tonight we did that.”
The American guard helped his Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse team overcome London Lions, 68-72, in a low-scoring but exciting slugfest at Copper Box on Wednesday night. McGhee was pleased that he and his teammates held concentration in such a physical and unpredictable contest.
“We stayed consistent for 40 minutes. In EuroCup, there’s a lot of talent, some really good teams. If you lose focus, they capitalize, so we just need to stay locked in.”
Despite the let-down of a recent domestic loss, Bourg was able to bounce back, proving exactly why it sits at the top of their EuroCup group, as the win pushes the team to 7-1 for the season. McGhee’s teammate Adam Mokoka was equally as encouraged by the character the visitors showed.
“We tried to stay together, as we had a tough loss in the French championship that really took from us a lot mentally,” Mokoka explained. “In the EuroCup, we are at first, so we tried to make sure we stay in that position. We couldn’t let that go.”
Winning was a team effort for Bourg. McGhee stood out, while Both Gach also scored 10 points and center Kevin Kokila combined 10 of his own with 6 boards. Coach Frederic Fauthoux was proud of his men.
“It was a tough fight. My team played very well, stayed focused, played together for forty minutes and it’s a very, very good victory.”
One area in which Bourg was especially impressive was on defense. Coming into the game, it held the best defensive record in the competition, allowing opponents to score just 69.3 points per game, across 7 fixtures. Tonight it improved on that record, limiting London to 68.
Though Bourg made the brighter start to open up an early lead, it provided the Lions a chance to claw their way back level. The game then went back and forth, with the hosts earning multiple leads but failing to open up a substantial margin. Coach Tautvydas Sabonis’s men kept chase until the very end, but it wasn’t their night and the visitors secured the 4-point victory.
Late-game composure proved decisive, and Mokoka credited the team’s calm approach.
“In this type of game, you have to stay locked in, make sure you stay calm because anything can happen,” Mokoka said. “It was a two-possession game, but we made sure we matched the physicality, talked to each other and always stayed positive.”
The result was tough on London’s star performer Joel Scott, who added 7 rebounds and 4 assists to his 23 points. With the loss, his team slid to 3-5, moving them level with NINERS Chemnitz on the edge of the postseason spots.
London has time to reflect on the result before returning to EuroCup action on December 4, when it meets Lietkabelis Panevezys. Bourg aims to carry its momentum into the clash with Buducnost VOLI Podgorica the following night.
