Racing Luxembourg, first in the relegation group, completed a 3-0 season sweep of fourth-placed AB Contern with an 95-82 road win, their third straight success.
The game stayed open for a long stretch. Racing started 0-4 through Brendan Adam Temple, but Contern answered well and moved ahead 19-15. The first quarter still ended 31-32 after Louis Paul Soragna scored the last 4 Racing points. The second quarter was the first major swing: Coach Adam Radomirovic's team held Contern to only 9 points and turned a one-point deficit into a 47-40 halftime lead.
Contern reacted strongly after the break. Marcellus Laventis Tigr Garrick, the 30-year-old USA scorer (Season PPG: 21.50, RPG: 5.8, AssPG: 4.1), sparked the comeback with three 3-pointers in the third quarter. Contern got back to 50-50 and later 64-66, but Racing answered immediately with 6 points in a row, all from Johan Bouttet on two straight threes, to lead 72-66 after 30 minutes.
When Anthony Tomba's side cut the gap to 72-76, MVP Antunio Xavier Bivins (Season PPG: 27.54, RPG: 9.5, AssPG: 1.25) controlled the finish. He scored 14 points in the fourth quarter and ended with 35 points, 10 rebounds and 4 steals, with an excellent 15/21 from 2-point range. Temple added 22 points and 12 rebounds.
For Contern, Jeffrey Nicolas Jamal Schumacher (Season PPG: 7.21, RPG: 3.81, AssPG: 1.31) delivered 27 points on an excellent 12/14 from 2-point range. Garrick scored 21, Christophe Mertzig had 13 points and 6 assists, and Joshua Armani Ferguson added 10 points with 16 rebounds.
Contern had excellent free-throw shooting at 13/14 and good 2-point shooting at 24/47. Racing compensated with a good 32/52 from 2-point range, a 37-31 rebounding edge and only 13 turnovers against 17.
(AI generated)