Basket Esch beat Mambra Mamer 89-79 in Esch, extending their run to four straight victories and moving up to 5th, while Mamer stays 8th. Franck Meriguet's team set the tone early with a 25-16 first quarter, driven by Clancy Mac Rugg and Quinten Nelson. In the second period, Mamer opened with four quick points from Alan Bedirhanoglu, but Nelson answered with back-to-back threes for six straight personal points to push it to 42-30. Halftime: 48-39.
After the break, Denilson Ramos Fonseca struck twice for Esch to create the night's biggest lead at 52-39. Darko Ristic's side replied with the key sequence of the game: an 11-0 run powered by Domenick Sleva's free throws and Terry Winn III's triple to pull it to 58-55. Esch steadied through Rugg and a Nelson three and led 68-62 after 30 minutes.
The last quarter brought another Mamer push Sleva hit from deep for 70-66 but Jordan Hicks answered with consecutive triples for 76-66, a decisive burst before he later fouled out. Mamer closed to 83-79 on Sleva's late scoring, yet Rugg and Nelson delivered the clinching baskets for 87-79, with free throws setting the final gap.
Shooting told: Esch were solid at the line (77% FT, good) and accurate from deep (47% 3P, good). Several shooters were excellent from three: Hicks 3/5 (60%), Nelson 4/8 (50%), Corentin Cornu 2/2 (100%); for Mamer, Sleva 4/6 (66.7%) and Winn 3/6 (50%).
Top performers
- Esch core: Rugg (Season PPG: 20.50, RPG: 9.95, AssPG: 3.11) authored a dominant 23 points, 18 rebounds and 6 assists (5/5 FT). Ramos Fonseca added 19 on 9/14 2P.
- Esch's imports: Nelson (Season PPG: 21.22, RPG: 5.58, AssPG: 4.37) scored 23 with five assists and those momentum threes; Hicks had 11 and 3 steals; Cornu chipped 9.
- Mamer's imports: Sleva (1.98m, 27) exploded for 38 points (10/12 FT, 4/6 3P) and 13 rebounds; Winn III (Season PPG: 20.64, RPG: 10.75, AssPG: 2.94) posted 21 and 16 with 3/6 from deep.
- From the core group, Raphaël Muth contributed 11.
Esch's perimeter streaks by Nelson in Q2 and Hicks in Q4, plus Rugg's control inside, were the game winners when it tightened late.
(AI generated)