Anthony Cowan tamed the Lions in incredible atmosphere
The 7DAYS EuroCup Group B clash between the London Lions and Promitheas Patras on Wednesday night produced a superb contest at Copper Box Arena, with Anthony Cowan stealing the show to help the visiting Greek side grab an 89-93 road win in a spectacular atmosphere.
Cowan registered personal bests of 26 points and 11 assists, as he helped spark a second-half comeback by Promitheas which forced London into submission in front of a passionate home crowd, whose enthusiasm suggested that basketball could be making strides in Great Britain.
With Promitheas trailing 50-48 at halftime, Cowan turned on the heat in the third quarter as the visiting side went on a 20-2 run when it was 55-51 down, taking the lead for good and fending off a spirited London fightback in the final 10 minutes.
Visiting coach Ioannis Christopoulos was full of praise for the 25-year old point guard from Maryland, who mixed superb long-range shooting with incisive drives to the basket, resulting in either easy layups or open shots for his teammates.
“He brings a winning spirit and a lot of heart,” Christopoulos said during the post-game press conference. “He is a great character and he learns the game every day. He is still a young guard and he will only become better and better.”
The Promitheas coach also praised the impressive atmosphere at Copper Box Arena: “It’s a great place. London is growing as an organization and, as a basketball person, I am happy to see that.”
London tactician Ryan Schmidt was just as impressed with the turnout at the venue and said that he was confident the team’s steady progress in its maiden EuroCup season would generate long-term popularity for basketball in the United Kingdom.
“I love it, the players love it. The fan base has got behind building this organization and it’s been nothing short of remarkable,” Schmidt noted. “It’s been fun to see not just a growing fan base, but a consistent fan base. The guys are feeding off that energy, and you could see in the last three or four minutes they thrived on it. It’s an intimate setting and it could become one of the best environments in Europe.”
Although he praised London for its spirited fourth-quarter fightback, Coach Schmidt was less elated with the overall performance.
“When you give up 93 points to a team in this competition, it’s always going to be tough to win,” he lamented. “I wasn’t happy with how we defended throughout the game, but I thought we got some big stops down the stretch in the last three or four minutes.”
London hit 6-of-12 three-pointers in the first half but only 2-of-16 in the second, allowing Promitheas to turn the game on its head as the Greek side finished on 13-of-32 from beyond the arc. Promitheas was also efficient from the foul line, nailing 22-of-25 free throws while London made 11-of-16. The hosts collected 19 offensive rebounds to Promitheas's 14, but it missed a bunch of opportunities to turn those offensive boards into second-chance points, having been put off by the visiting team’s physicality in the paint.
Ultimately, Coach Schmidt gave credit to Promitheas for a mature performance: “I thought they played extremely well. They compete for 40 minutes. You’ve got to give them credit because there were four possessions or so when the shot clock was down to five seconds, but Cowan and [Joe] Thomasson hit some tough shots. That’s what big players do.”
Game Videos
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Magic Moment of the Night: Nwaba steal and dunk!
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Magic Moment: Grantham throws it down!
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Magic Moment: Nwaba steal and dunk!
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Magic Moment: Nelson's magic assist!
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Magic Moment of the Night: Sharma rocks the rim!
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Magic Moment: Dekker beats the quarter buzzer
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Magic Moment: Sharma rocks the rim
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Magic Moment of the Night: Matt Morgan connects with Grantham!
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Magic Moment: Grantham dunks!
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Magic Moment: Sharma throws it down after nice feed
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Magic Moment: Matkovic hammers home in traffic
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Magic Moment of the Night: Sharma's monster dunk!
- 03:46
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Magic Moment: Another monster dunk by Sharma!
- 00:14
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Magic Moment: Sharma gets airborne for a monster dunk!
- 00:09
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Magic Moment: Olaseni beats the halftime buzzer with a monster dunk
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Magic Moment: A monster dunk by Nwaba!
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Magic Moment: Lipkevicius with the sweet dish
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Magic Moment: Wallace throws it down in transition
- 03:52
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Magic Moment: Sharma rejects Cook!
- 00:32
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Magic Moment of the Night: David Nwaba's first, spectacular EuroCup points!
- 03:43
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- 00:10
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Magic Moment: David Nwaba's first, spectacular EuroCup points!
- 00:09
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Magic Moment: Olaseni's Statue of Liberty slam!
- 01:03
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- 00:43
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Magic Moment of the Night: Miller-McIntyre with the game-winner
- 03:53
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Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz-Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens | Round 18 Highlights | 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:26
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Magic Moment: Miller-McIntyre with the game-winner!
- 00:18
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Magic Moments: Antetokounmpo throws it down
- 00:15
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Magic Moments: Balcerowski bats away Kotsar’s shot
