Gareth Murray Top Scores for Angers, But Suffers Defeat in NM1 Final Four

Image Credit: GB Basketball

Gareth Murray netted a team-high 15 points last night, but it wasn’t enough to guide Angers BC into the NM1 Playoffs Final after they suffered an agonising 67-68 defeat, in Saint Vallier.

The former GB forward, who has had spells in the BBL with Glasgow Rocks, Cheshire Phoenix and Plymouth Raiders, shot 6-of-12 from the field including three triples in his side’s Final Four loss against Maurienne.

Murray had been hoping to help Angers achieve promotion just as Eric Boateng did with Blois, after they ran away with the NM1 league title with their Championship success lifting them into Pro-B.

The 31-year-old averaged 8.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in 38 appearances for Angers in NM1 this season with a 32.8% success rate from 3-point range. Earlier this week, Murray was linked with a return to the Rocks along with fellow Scot Ali Fraser.

Angers had reached the Final Four after upsetting second seeds Rueil with a 2-1 series victory in the quarter-finals having finished 8th in the league with an 18-16 record.

Elsewhere, also in France, Laurence Ekperigin is in the Pro-B Playoffs with Poitiers after helping his side to an eighth place finish in the league and they will take on the second seeds, Evreux in the first round.

Meanwhile, Matthew Bryan-Amaning is beginning to have a real impact for his new side in Argentina after leading San Lorenzo to a 2-1 series advantage over the top seeds in the South Conference with a team-high 16 points in Game 3.

Joining Murray in suffering post-season losses are Kyle Johnson, who went down 3-2 with Novipiu Casale in the first round of the Italian Serie A2 Playoffs, while Jules Dang Akodo was unable to prevent LTH Castings suffering a 2-0 defeat in Slovenia’s first round.

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