Nitia Bettembourg won 89-71 at BC Mess and moved up to 1st place in the M-Nationale 2 relegation group, while Mess stayed 3rd. It was a notable turnaround in this season series, after Mess had clearly won the two qualification games.
BC Mess opened better and led 11-5, but the game changed quickly. Bettembourg finished the first quarter on a 19-4 run to take a 24-15 lead. That stretch gave Bradley Gene Melton's team control, and the visitors kept that grip in the second period to reach halftime ahead 40-31.
Mess still had a reaction after the break. Deanthony Kendrick McCallum (Season PPG: 25.05) and Bruno Zinédine Gauthier brought the gap down from 14 to 5 with a 9-0 push at 40-45. That was the key sequence of the game, because Bettembourg answered immediately, won the third quarter 25-17 and rebuilt separation. In the fourth quarter, the lead went up to 22 points.
Cameron Brooks-Harris (Season PPG: 25.63) was the main difference with 34 points, while Nicolas Parrish (Season PPG: 18.19) added 20. Bettembourg also received solid support from Mathieu Ercolani with 10 and captain Christopher Teck with 8.
For Mess, McCallum, the 27-year-old 1.90m American, scored 30. Gauthier added 13, and Bernardo Matos Pinto gave useful spacing with 12 points, all from three-point shots.
Gauthier's early unsportsmanlike foul came during Bettembourg's first-quarter surge, and Mess spent the rest of the night chasing. Bettembourg has now won three straight.
(AI generated)