Sparta Bertrange overpowered Musel Pikes 102-52 in Stadtbredimus, setting the tone from the opening minutes and never looking back. Sparta opened 0-6, stretched the gap to 17-32 after 10 minutes and hit the break up 27-57. A 5-point burst by Jarvis Williams to start Q3 and back-to-back triples from Yannick Verbeelen pushed the margin to 41-80 after three. The largest lead reached 50 at the horn.
Shooting was the story: Sparta delivered excellent efficiency (free throws 12/13, 92%; threes 14/28, 50%) and were strong inside (24/39, 62%). Musel struggled at every level (free throws 61%, twos 10/41, 24%, threes 6/19, 32%). Even a B1 bench technical in Q2 against coach Karl Abou Khalil and an unsportsmanlike on Verbeelen in Q4 did not alter control.
Key runs marked the evolution. In Q2, Verbeelen sank four straight free throws before Victor Iwuakor strung together two baskets for an 8-0 stretch to 24-57. In Q4, Tom Germeaux scored five in a row, and later Philippe Arendt and Jules Beicht hit consecutive threes to bring Sparta to 100 points.
Top performers
- Sparta, domestic core: Max Logelin (20 pts, 4 threes; Season PPG: 16.62, RPG: 5.26), Verbeelen (16 pts, 6/6 FT; Season PPG: 9.31), Arendt (11 pts, 3 threes). Victor Stein added 5 with perfect free throws.
- Sparta, imports: Williams (22 pts, 8 rebs; Season PPG: 25.62) claimed game MVP. Iwuakor (18 pts; Season PPG: 17.55, RPG: 9.50) was effective inside. Lennart Holsten contributed after the break.
- Musel, domestic core: Sam Streef led with 14 (2 threes; Season PPG: 12.46), Tom Welter added 11 (Season PPG: 8.62).
- Musel, imports/other: Tristin Walley (Season PPG: 17.23, RPG: 10.50) posted 11 and 8 rebounds, while Esosa Okundaye went 4/4 at the line.
For coach Brian Walker Carroll, Musel's slide continued; for Sparta, this outing halted a brief two-game skid after opening the phase with 11 straight wins. Attendance: 200 (140 paying).
(AI generated)