Black Star Mersch beat league leader AS Soleuvre 96-82 in Mersch and levelled the season series at 2-2. The result pushed BSM up three places to 4th in the Tour montée standings, while Soleuvre stayed 1st. Goran Lukic's team also extended its current run to three straight wins.
The game was tight early at 22-21 after one quarter. Soleuvre briefly stayed in contact and levelled at 28-28 in the second period, but Mersch then changed the rhythm. A 19-8 finish to the quarter created a 47-36 halftime lead, with Donte Bezel Pope (Season PPG: 31.37) and captain Jérôme Besenius driving the scoring. The decisive stretch came just after the break: BSM opened the third quarter with 12 unanswered points, from 47-36 to 59-36, and the gap reached 25, the biggest lead of the night.
Soleuvre did react through Felix Whitcomb Kloman (Season PPG: 30.75), Christian Jeffrey Parker (Season PPG: 25.07) and Sandro Sana Sanches Gomes Junior, but Black Star kept control. Kloman was highly productive with 33 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, and Parker added 17. Sanches Gomes Junior scored 16.
For Mersch, Pope finished with 28, Besenius had a season-high 21, Desean Hampton (Season PPG: 17.96) added 16, and Dean Gindt (35, 2.01m) gave strong support with 15. Besenius hit five 3-pointers, Gindt made three from long range, and Romain Dieterlen added 12. Soleuvre got the margin down to 10 in the last quarter, but never seriously threatened the result. Kloman was also charged with a U2 in the fourth.
(AI generated)