Second-ranked BC Mess made it three wins in a row by holding off fourth-ranked US Heffingen 70-65. The game looked one-sided early. Mess opened on a 10-0 run, led 19-8 after the first quarter and built the gap to 44-21 late in the second period before taking a 44-25 halftime lead.
Keishon Lamont Porter (24, 1.96m, USA) set the tone immediately and was the central figure all evening. He scored 7 early points in Mess's first surge and finished with 39, including six 3-pointers. Luke Davis (25, 2.03m, USA) added 11, while Gabriel Da Veiga Rodrigues (31, 1.92m) brought 7 and Edi Sabotic 5.
Heffingen changed the rhythm after the break. José Alberto Pais Costa's team won the third quarter 23-12, with Helder Laercio Neto (25, 1.98m, AGO) and Najee Emanuel Williams (23, 1.95m, USA) driving the comeback. Mess had been up by as many as 23 points, but Heffingen cut the deficit to 56-48 going into the fourth.
The visitors kept coming and reduced it to 61-60, turning the last minutes into a real close game. That was the crucial moment. Stéphane Frentzel's side answered with a 6-0 push from 61-60 to 67-60, with Cambiotti and Da Veiga Rodrigues providing important points around Porter's scoring load. Heffingen still reached 68-65 after Frank Jacoby's late 3-pointer, but Sabotic secured the final points from the line.
For Heffingen, Neto finished with 20 points, Williams had 15, Lee Bourgeois 9 and Jacoby 6. Neto and Williams both ended with five fouls, which mattered in the closing stretch.
(AI generated)