At Niederkorn, 11th-ranked Kordall Steelers beat 8th-ranked Gréngewald Hueschtert 83-65 and stopped a five-game losing streak. The game turned on KDS's control after each GRE rally.
GRE started better, going from 0-2 to 8-2, but KDS answered with an 8-0 run and finished the first quarter ahead 24-15. Jeffrey Leroy Early Jr (38, USA) changed the pace as soon as he came in and ended with 27 points on good efficiency: 10/15 from 2-point range and an excellent 2/2 from 3. Blake Andrew Jones (Season PPG: 24.17, RPG: 11.29, AssPG: 2.71) was the official MVP with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists, adding good shooting at the line (6/7) and on twos (8/12).
The second quarter brought GRE back into the game. From 29-16, the visitors closed to 31-28 behind Raiquan Leeandre Clark (Season PPG: 25.00, RPG: 7.63, AssPG: 1.50) and Alvin Charles Tumblin Jr (Season PPG: 17.67, RPG: 12.00, AssPG: 1.50). After the KDS timeout, coach Bento dos Reis Pires got the perfect response: an 18-5 run to halftime, with Early scoring 9 points in that stretch and Max Schmit hitting back-to-back threes.
KDS then produced the biggest margin of the night in the third quarter. After Clark cut it to 49-36, the Steelers pushed to 58-36, their highest lead at +22. GRE still reacted with a 13-0 run, fueled by Clark and Lex Bauer (Season PPG: 8.50, RPG: 2.29, AssPG: 2.14), but Early stopped the slide and KDS stayed in command.
The numbers underline the gap: KDS won the rebound battle 42-26, delivered 18 assists to GRE's 8, and shot a good 40% from 3, against 24% for GRE. For the visitors, Clark finished with 29 points, Tumblin added 13 points and 8 rebounds, and Bauer contributed 12 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals.
(AI generated)