KOBE Paras poured 10 points and two rebounds, but no longer saw action in the fourth period as Niigata Albirex BB finally put an end to their horrid 26-game skid with a huge 79-76 escape over the Ibaraki Robots Saturday in the 2021-22 B.League season at City Hall Plaza Aore Nagaoka.
Kobe Paras B.League news
Rosco Allen delivered the go-ahead three with 20.2 seconds to play to give Niigata the 78-76 lead after losing grip of an eight-point lead, 67-59, with 7:23 left.
Endgame gaffes almost doomed the Albirex as they kept the window open for the Robots, most notably with Chehales Tapscott nailing the three with 37.8 seconds remaining to give Ibaraki the 76-75 edge before Allen came through late.
Atsunobu Hirao had a chance to tie the game, but his jumper fell way short leading to Allen extending the lead to three in the last 4.8 ticks.
Still, Ibaraki had one last shot, but Marc Trasolini could not get grip of the ball as time expired, much to the relief of the home fans.
This is the Albirex's first victory since taking the 77-64 win over the San-En NeoPhoenix way back in Oct. 9 last year.
Allen played the role of the hero with his 26 points, six rebounds, and three assists, while Jeff Ayres, Yuto Nohmi, and Tshilidzi Nephawe all scored 11 each to finally breathe that sigh of relief for the cellar-dwellers and improve to 3-27.
Eric Jacobsen led Ibaraki (6-24) with 21 points and eight rebounds, while Hirao got 16 as Filipino shooter Javi Gomez de Liano remained deactivated for the Robots.
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