Led by a 36-point, 20-rebound performance from big man Kofi Coburn, professional basketball’s Seoul Samsung finally snapped a 22-game road losing streak.
The team defeated Suwon KT 99-94 in an away game of the 2023-2024 regular season at the Suwon KT Arena in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday.
With the win, Samsung ended its 22-game losing streak on the road.
The current Samsung team (22 consecutive losses) is the longest losing streak in the history of professional basketball, which began in 1997.
The previous longest losing streaks were 18 games by Daegu Dongyang in 1998-1999, SK in 2003, and Samsung in 2021-2022.
Samsung snapped a 22-game losing streak on the road with a win over tough KT. They also ended a six-game losing streak in the regular season.
However, they were unable to move out of last place (4-16). On the other hand, third-place KT (12-7) lost the momentum to climb to the top of the standings after being swept by last-place Samsung.
For Samsung, Coburn, a 6-foot-6 center, single-handedly led the way with 36 points and 20 rebounds to snap a two-game losing streak.
Coburn was devastating under the basket, making 17 of 21 shots from the floor. He also grabbed 10 offensive rebounds, causing problems for KT’s big men.
Hong Kyung-ki, who was acquired from Seoul SK in a trade with Park Min-woo, supported Coburn from the perimeter with 13 points, hitting three 3-pointers in his Samsung debut.
Center Lee Won-seok did his part with 12 points, four rebounds and four assists.
With the score 97-92 with 19.3 seconds left in regulation, Lee hit a cool dunk after receiving a pass from Coburn to put the final nail in the coffin.
Lee Jung-hyun, who is playing in his 602nd consecutive regular season game, also led the offense with 10 points and four assists.
For KT, foreign player Paris Bass chipped in with 31 points and seven rebounds, but the team couldn’t overcome a strong performance from Coburn.
Han Hee-won added 20 points, but the focus of the Samsung players shone through as they looked to end their losing streak in the shootout.
For KT, ace Heo Hoon left the court with 8:55 left in the third quarter after being hit by Lee Won-seok’s elbow during a full-court press defense.
Before injuring his face, Heo had played about 18 minutes and had 10 points and three assists.
Ha, who has emerged as one of the best big men in Korea this season, was unable to score due to Coburn’s height.
Busan KCC defeated Daegu KOGAS 93-88 in a hard-fought game that went to a second overtime at home.
KCC picked up its seventh win of the season (9-1) and set the stage for a mid-table finish. Meanwhile, ninth-ranked KOGAS (4-15), which saw its first winning streak of the season end, closed the gap on last-place Samsung.
Trailing 72-74 at the end of the fourth quarter, KCC was forced to extend the game when Ragan-ah calmly sank a three-pointer with 27 seconds left in regulation.
Lagana added eight more points in the first and second overtime periods to spearhead KCC’s victory.
He finished with a total of 21 points and 21 rebounds, and was a solid presence on the boards for KCC.
Heo Woong (16 points), Choi Jun-yong (15 points), Song Kyo-chang and Alize DeShawn Johnson (10+ points) also scored in double figures.
For KOGAS, Andrew Nicholson led the way with 20 points and 13 rebounds.
With the return of key guard Doo Kyung-min, Wonju DB jumped out to a commanding lead after beating SK 91-82 at home.
Riding a four-game winning streak, DB improved to 18-3 on the season and extended their lead over second-place Changwon LG (15-5) to two and a half games, while SK (10-8) remained in fourth place.
Dedrick Lawson scored a game-high 28 points to lead both teams in the win.
Lawson added eight assists and seven rebounds.
Lee Sun Albano had 19 points and four assists, while Kang Sang-jae added 13 points and 12 rebounds to fill in for center Kim Jong-kyu, who was out with an injury.
Doo Kyung-min also shook off his injury to play his first game of the season.
Doo marked his return with eight points, including two 3-pointers, in 11 minutes.
SK played 40 minutes with their main man Jamil Warney, but he was unable to match up with Lawson and the foreign players, scoring just 18 points.
Oh Jae-hyun (12 points), Kim Sun-hyung, and Choi Won-hyuk (11 points each) supported Warney, but it was also disappointing for SK that big man Oh Se-geun, who was an ambitious signing before the opening day, struggled with nine points and two rebounds. 파워볼