Amicale Steinsel edged Basket Esch 64-60 in a close return game, completing the season sweep after the 79-54 away win in the first meeting.
Game flow mattered here. AMI turned a 6-9 start into a 15-11 advantage with a 9-2 run late in the first quarter. Franck Meriguet's team responded well in the second period and twice led by four, at 22-18 and 29-25, before Steinsel went to the break up 31-29.
The key swing came after halftime. At 35-34, AMI produced a 13-2 surge to 48-36, the biggest lead of the evening. Ashton Sherrell (Season PPG: 24.00, RPG: 8.48, AssPG: 1.00) was central to that spell, scoring 9 Steinsel points in a row. Basket Esch answered immediately with a 12-2 run to close the third quarter at 50-48, with Damien Thill and Quinten Nelson leading the comeback.
The fourth stayed very tight. LAL moved in front 55-54 and later 58-56, but Alex Laurent tied it at 58-58, and Daniel Alves Brandao de Sousa's side closed with a 6-2 finish.
Sherrell led AMI with 24 points, 5 rebounds and 9 fouls drawn. Malcolm Richardson (32, USA, Season PPG: 16.00, RPG: 8.00, AssPG: 5.33) added 11 points, 12 rebounds and excellent 2-point shooting at 4/5. Laurent scored 13, while Scott Morton contributed 11 with excellent 2/2 from three.
Nelson, the game MVP, carried Esch with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 6 steals. Dino Ceman added 11 points and 10 rebounds on excellent efficiency (2/2 FT, 3/4 on twos, 1/1 on threes) before fouling out late. Hicks had 9 points.
AMI shot a good 54% on 2-pointers, while LAL were good at the line at 8/9 (89%). Steinsel now has back-to-back wins; Basket Esch has lost four in a row.
(AI generated)