Etzella Ettelbruck overpowered T71 Dudelange 96-75 in the qualification phase, tightening their grip on the top of the table. Gavin Love's team is up to 2nd (8-2) and on a four-game winning streak, while T71 slips to 5th (6-4) and suffers a second consecutive loss.
Game evolution
A lively first quarter saw trading blows from deep: T71's Christopher David Jack (Season PPG: 9.2, RPG: 1.6, AssPG: 1.6) and Jimmie Lee Taylor III (Season PPG: 21.9, RPG: 6.2, AssPG: 3.8) answered Thomas Henkel's flurry. The key swing came late in Q1 when Philippe Gutenkauf nailed back-to-back threes for 25-29. In Q2, Etzella strung a 0-6 burst (30-31 to 30-37) through Adrian Delph and Billy Ray McDaniel Jr, reaching halftime 42-48.
T71's best spell arrived in Q3: Taylor buried consecutive triples to pull back to 55-61 and later 63-71, but Etzella always found an answer, including an Eric Zenners three and Henkel free throws. The visitors then decided it early in Q4 with a 0-5 start (Henkel two, Delph three) to 63-76 and stretched the highest lead to 25 (68-93) before closing.
Key performances
Henkel (Season PPG: 10.5, RPG: 2.5, AssPG: 1.13) delivered an MVP night: 26 points, 9 rebounds and an excellent 6/10 from three plus 3/3 on twos. Nicholas Thomas Davis (24, 2.01m, USA; Season PPG: 21.89, RPG: 9.14, AssPG: 2.5) powered the paint with 21 points on an excellent 8/10 from two, 9 rebounds and 3 assists, drawing 8 fouls. Delph (Season PPG: 21.6, RPG: 5.86, AssPG: 3.29) added 19, while Gutenkauf (Season PPG: 16.8, RPG: 5.0, AssPG: 5.92) had 15 points and 8 assists. McDaniel Jr chipped in 9 points and 11 boards.
For T71, Taylor III (31, 1.98m, USA) scored 24 with an excellent 6/11 from three and 4 assists; Jack hit five triples for 15. Joe Kalmes (Season PPG: 16.1, RPG: 7.3, AssPG: 2.0) posted 8 points and 8 rebounds, and Ivan Do Rosario Delgado (Season PPG: 8.0, RPG: 3.5, AssPG: 2.67) had 10 points and 5 assists.
Team numbers underline the gap: Etzella shot well across the board (FT 79%, 2P 66%, 3P 46), out-rebounded T71 38-30 and logged 20 assists. T71 was excellent at the line (100%) but below par from the field (2P 48%, 3P 32 on 41 attempts). Coach Yves André Defraigne's timeouts couldn't halt Etzella's fourth-quarter surge.
(AI generated)