Every once in a while in overseas basketball, you witness the real incredible scoring games. I mean you read about guys scoring 35 points or even 40 and these performances do happen weekly, but surpassing 50 points? That doesn´t happen often, but when it does occur, it has to be celebrated. I cover a lot of basketball in Germany and try to keep track of other leagues, but someone scoring 50 plus points in a 40 minute game is very unique. I remember, it happening a little more than 3 years ago in Austria when American guard Richaud Pack who balled at Maryland (NCAA) did it in a game with his team Vienna against Arkadia. He racked up 55 points in 41 minutes and I was fortunate to have covered that game. It is a milestone that stuck with me and last week, 55 points was scored again, but this time in Germany by a Canadian named Justin Andrew. A big difference was that Andrew did it in a 4th division league game whereas Pack did it in first division Austria. Ok so there is a difference in skill level between the leagues, but where you have to absolutely tip the hat to Andrew was his crazy and insane 14 three´s that he drilled against German team Salzkotten. Even if Jonathan Braeger scored 100 points 2 years ago in a Regionalliga game with Baskets Vilsbiburg against Wurzburg, one has to know his opponent played mostly with 3 guys, so the performance by Justin Andrew has to be one of the best scoring games ever. “it is definitely the greatest scoring game in Germany. He was so locked in and it was amazing to watch. A fellow teammate doing was so great. I was so happy for him. After the buzzer sounded, I got 2 water bottles and poured them all over him to cool him down because he was so hot. We all jumped on him. It was an amazing game. I think he grew more from this performance as did the team. I feel like our defense grew as well. We guarded them really well down the stretch”, stressed teammate Bryant Allen (183-PG-1990, college: Dakota St.). It is really refreshing when a fellow teammate who isn´t only an American, but also a prolific scorer like him has unending support and love for his feat without even a trace of jealousy.

Justin Andrew was born on April 10, 1997 in Hamilton, Ontario and began to play basketball at the Hill Academy in Vaughan, Ontario. He then went on to have a stellar career at St Francis Xavier University in Canada from 2016-2022 playing a total of 96 games and averaged in double figures in scoring 3 times during a season and his best season he averaged 16.7ppg, 3.7rpg, 3.5apg, 1.7spg, FGP: 52.3%, 3PT: 35.0%, FT: 87.2%. He reached 2 AUS tournament titles and was named to the All-AUS Second Team in 2022. He came overseas in 2022 and played with the Telekom Baskets Bonn 2 team (Regionaliga) averaging 23.4ppg, 5.2rpg, 4.4apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 59.7%, 3PT: 36.5%, FT: 84.3%. This season with the ETB Miners, he is averaging 20,3ppg, 3,1rpg, 4,2apg and 1,5spg. Last season he scored 30 points or more 7 times including 38,37 and 36 point games. At St Francis Xavier, the most he ever scored was 30 points. He obviously has picked up his scoring game since turning pro. But scoring 55 points is like in another galaxy for him, but this explosion didn´t surprise teammate Bryant Allen in any way. “There was no doubt in my mind that he could do something like that. He can score with the best of them. He works so hard in practice. His shooting is so effortlessly and he has a really nice form. He is a 3 level scorer and that makes him so special on the court”, stressed Bryant Allen who has carved out a nice overseas career and been a top player in the German Regionalliga. Allen played the last 5 seasons with BSV Wulfen and in 4 Regionalliga seasons averaged 22,0ppg, 4,0rpg and 3,0apg. He played his rookie season with FC Schalke. He got experience before coming overseas at Illinois State University and Dakota State University (NAIA).

The incredible 55 point explosion occurred on February 24th as the Miners shell shocked Salzkotten 125-88. Bryant Allen had a respectable game netting 17 points and surely will never forget the incredible scoring display by his teammate. It was evident pretty quickly that Andrew would have a night to remember. “You knew right away. He had something like 22 points already in the second quarter. I looked at him and told him you might have a 50 point night. In the third quarter he was somewhere at 35-38 points or maybe even had 40 points. Everyone else said you may get 50 points, but I was saying 60 points. I knew he would have a great night”, explained Bryant Allen. In a way, he has 2 incredible feats in one. Yes he scorched Salzkotten for 55 points, but at the same time nailed 14 three´s which is mindboggling. “I actually thought that he had made more three´s. He had some other games where he had made many three´s. Making 14 of 19 three´s is amazing. The scary thing is he missed 2 at the end and if he made them his percentage would have been even better. He is capable of hitting 3 after 3. He isn´t scared of moving far behind the line. He has real good range”, warned Bryant Allen. He hit Hagen Haspe for 9 three´s last season, but making 14 is just unheard of. “Making 14 three´s is really difficult. He made his first 5 or 6 from the line and then started to scoot back farther behind the line and still made shots. After a while we thought he would make shots with his eyes closed. His 14 three´s must be a record. He can really shoot the ball, he is so dangerous”, expressed Bryant Allen. You have to take a lot of shots to get 55 points and often might not have the best shooting percentages, but Andrew proved with his incredible 20/27 shooting onslaught that he mostly took the right shots. “You could see he was so hot. He shot at a real high clip and no shot was rushed. He got into the flow of the game. We ran our whole offense over him. We were along for the ride. It was a jaw breaking game. I was so happy to have been able to witness something like that. We are 2 players that can bounce off each other and have great games”, said Bryant Allen. Scoring 55 points took Justin Andrew to a new level and it will be interesting to witness the next great scoring game by him. “He already had a lot of confidence, but a game like that will give him even more confidence. He took his game and himself to a new level. I remember observing him after each basket that he made, and he wasn´t excited. He was so locked in, it must of felt like a dream for him. He never lost control, but remained so poised”, remembered Bryant Allen.

The success of the ETB Miners Essen this season obviously has to do with their deep roster and many unselfish players that like to play team basketball. But the 18-3 Miners are also in first place in the Regionalliga West for another reason and that is the great working relationship that Andrew and Allen have on the court. Both guys are 1-2 in scoring with Andrew averaging 20,3ppg and Allen 19,1ppg. They function together really well and that isn´t always seen from 2 dominant scorers on the same team. “Justin and I see game and understand it really well. We do a good job picking and choosing who will make the plays. We both can make plays for ourselves or our teammates. We understand that we can´t do everything ourselves, but need our team as well. He makes plays that opens up the offense. When the game is close, we both want the moment. I have no problem sharing the moment”, warned Bryant Allen. Allen also knows that he is capable of having an extra big game, but has that special mindset that he takes into each game. “I never go into games thinking I will get 60 points. I always take what the defense gives me. If I´m feeling it, then the team will do the same for me like they did for Justin. We give any guy that is hot the ball, but still play as a team. I´m really fortunate that we have a really good team and I don´t have to do so much. We have so many weapons”, stressed Bryant Allen. It took me a while to realize that Justin Andrew actually tied the NBA record for most three´s in a game with 14 that Klay Thompson has and has made more three´s then the other splash brother Steph Curry one of the greatest if not the greatest three point shooter in NBA history. Realizing this must be mindboggling for anyone. “Knowing that is crazy. He is in real good company. He can shoot with the best of them. We see it in practice all the time. This hot shooting won´t be the end of it. There will be more to come”, warned Bryant Allen. So what happened after the big win and 55 point game. Did the team pay for his dinner or does Andrew have to pay for a team dinner? “Normally when we score 100 points, the guy that made the 100 points has to bring a cake. Justin didn´t make the 100 points. He didn´t have to do anything. We celebrated him the whole night. We encourage each other on the court and want to continue to get better and hopefully finish the season at number one”, stated Bryant Allen. Those are real beautiful closing words of a real winner. Thinking about where the team lands before one´s own stats is always refreshing especially from Americans.