Black Star Mersch handled BC Mess 81-61 in Mondercange, controlling the qualification round contest from the outset. Coach Goran Lukic's team burst to 0-7 and then 2-15 behind Donte Bezel Pope (Season PPG: 32.47) and Desean Hampton (Season PPG: 20.00), taking the first quarter 10-23.
Mess responded in the second period as Deanthony Kendrick McCallum (Season PPG: 25.59) caught fire with 13 points in the quarter. His sequence of drives and free throws, plus a three by Pedrito Kemevuako, trimmed the deficit to 36-42 at the break. A bench technical (B1) on coach Stéphane Frentzel punctuated a tense stretch, while Dean Gindt (2.01m, 34) answered with a timely three for Black Star.
The third quarter belonged to the visitors again. Hampton repeatedly got to the rim and the line, Pope kept adding in mid-range and transition, and Black Star rebuilt a double-digit cushion to 50-66 after 30 minutes. In the fourth, Mersch stretched the gap to a game-high +23 at 58-81 before Bernardo Matos Pinto's late three set the final score.
Top performers
- For Black Star: Pope (26 points, two triples) and Hampton (20) drove the offense; Gindt added 10, while Norman Kloss (Season PPG: 4.00) chipped in 6 crucial third- and fourth-quarter points.
- For Mess: McCallum led with 26. Support came from Jamie Freymann (6), captain Fabbri Bruno Zinédine Gauthier (7), and Kemevuako Pedrito (7), with Matos Pinto hitting a late three.
Black Star split the season series 1-1 after losing the first meeting 84-96. Form-wise, Mersch are on a three-game winning streak and sit 5th (12-7), while Mess remain 8th (8-10) and have dropped five straight.
(AI generated)