Basket Esch controlled the night against Racing Luxembourg, winning 97-64 in front of 150 spectators at esch/ho1. After a 4-4 start, Esch strung together a 10-0 run to 14-4 and closed the first quarter at 23-10. The second period widened the gap further: Esch's pressure and free throws pushed the margin to 50-22 at halftime. Racing responded with their best stretch after the break, taking the third quarter 26-25 behind a 13-point burst from Antunio Xavier Bivins (Season PPG: 24.83), but the deficit never dipped below 20. In the fourth, Esch reasserted control and reached a highest lead of +36 at 95-59, a phase that also included a technical on Steve Lanners and a bench technical on coach Uros Niksic.
For Esch's non-homegrown group, Clancy Mac Rugg (Season PPG: 19.42) led with 31, regularly getting to the line and hitting a first-quarter three that set the tone. Quinten Gregory Dee Nelson (Season PPG: 21.50) added 17, and Jordan Hicks (Season PPG: 14.58), a 35-year-old 2.01m guard from the USA, chipped in 11. From the homegrown core, Jeffry Monteiro Neves (Season PPG: 4.40) delivered 16 strong points inside, with Denilson Ramos Fonseca (Season PPG: 3.71) at 8 and Damien Thill (Season PPG: 5.67) adding 6.
Racing leaned on Bivins' 23, while Lanners (Season PPG: 11.00) had 9, and Flenard Whitfield (RAC) also scored 9. Johan Bouttet (Season PPG: 4.83), Angelo Caruso (Season PPG: 2.75) and Brendan Adam Temple (Season PPG: 16.08) provided support but could not shift the momentum.
Esch not only avenged the 89-85 loss from the reverse fixture, they also climbed to 3rd in the classification (gain +2). Racing remain 10th.
(AI generated)