The league's regular season leading team Shaanxi Xinda Wolves suffered a stunning setback after suffering a 102-89 loss against Guizhou Senhang in the opening game of the Chinese National Basketball League (NBL) quarterfinal round on Wednesday.

With the win, Guizhou now leads their playoff series and are a game closer to advancing to the semifinal round. Guizhou is seeded eighth after finishing the regular season with a 15-11 win-loss record, while Shaanxi is the top-seeded team after registering an outstanding 24 victories in 26 games played. This was Shaanxi's only third loss in the whole season.

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According to EuroBasket, former Iona Gaels star player Steven Burtt led the winning team with an outstanding performance of 39 points and six boards along with four assists and two steals. The 32-year-old native of New York City went 13 for 25 from the field including four treys from beyond the arc region and made 9 of 10 from the free-throw line in 41 minutes of playing time.

Former NBA D-League player Brandon Costner finished the match with a double-double production of 22 points and 14 rebounds while local players Zhou Feng and ZhenHu Zhang chipped in 12 points and 10 points respectively for the winners.  

Guizhou's starters had a better scoring game, pouring in a combined 89 points compared to Shaanxi's 76. The losing side committed 18 turnovers while the victors only turned the ball over on 11 occasions.

According to NowGoal, the Wolves entered the final period with a three-point lead 73-70. However, Guizhou staged a remarkable 32-16 in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

Former Austin Toros player Tyler Wilkerson paced Shaanxi with team-highs 25 points and 11 rebounds while ex- Clemson University Tigers player James Mays added 18 points and five rebounds.

Game 2 will be played on Saturday.

Tagschinese nbl, NBA D-League, brandon costner, james mays, Tyler Wilkerson, steven burtt