An upset win.
The Changwon LG Sakers won 101-92 against the Busan KCC Aegis in the sixth round of the 2023-2024 Jungkwanjang Professional Basketball League at Sajik Gymnasium in Busan on Feb. 22. LG is in second place with 34 wins and 17 losses. LG has won nine straight games. It was the first nine-game winning streak in nine years. KCC is fifth with 27 wins and 23 losses.
LG’s Asem Marei had a double-double with 17 points and 16 rebounds, Lee Jae-do had 20 points and six assists, Jung Hee-jae had 16 points, and Justin Gutang, Yang Hong-seok, and Lee Kwan-hee had 14, 11, and 10 points, respectively. KCC Heo Woong scored 26 points, Lee Seung-hyun added 19 points, and Ragan-ah chipped in with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Notably, Ragan-ah recorded three blocks to reach 700 career KBL blocks. This is the second most in history.
In the first quarter, both teams battled back and forth. With the score tied at 5-5 early on, LG took the lead with back-to-back baskets from Marei and Jung Hee-jae, but KCC answered with an end-one play from Heo Woong and a three-pointer from Lee Ho-hyun. The teams then exchanged points until, at 15-15, LG took the lead with a three-pointer by Yang Hong-seok and a basket by Gutang. However, KCC pulled away. Trailing 21-23 with 11 seconds left, Johnson made one free throw. Then, with five seconds left, Chung got a steal and made both free throws after Gutang’s U-foul. The first quarter ended with KCC leading 24-23.
In the second quarter, KCC came out strong. Epistola’s three-pointer opened the second quarter, and KCC quickly extended the lead to 10 points with back-to-back baskets from Lee Seung-hyun and Epistola. In the middle of the quarter, Lee Geun-hwi hit a three-pointer, and KCC added points from Lee Seung-hyun and Heo Woong in the final minutes. They ended the first half with a 52-43 lead.
LG rallied in the third quarter. After opening the third quarter with a three-pointer from Lee Jae-do, LG trailed 53-61, but Jung Hee-jae and Lee Jae-do answered with three-pointers 토토 of their own. In the middle of the quarter, two free throws by Lee Jae-do and a three-pointer by Gutang cut the deficit to one point, before Lee Jae-do’s three-pointer found the rim and turned the game around. In the closing minutes, Gutang, Yoo Yoo-sang, and Tello scored consecutive baskets. LG ended the third quarter with a 78-72 lead.
In the fourth quarter, LG maintained the gap. In the middle of the fourth quarter, there was a twist when Jung Hee-jae was sent off with five fouls. After KCC closed the gap to six points with back-to-back baskets from Ragan and Heo Woong, Marei exploded in the final minute. Marei drove the wedge by completing an end-one play. In the end, the game ended in LG’s favor.