Coach Bradley Gene Melton's Nitia Bettembourg controlled most phases in Bettborn and beat Rebound Préizerdaul 85-69, taking the season series 2-0 in the Relégation group. PRE are now on six straight defeats.
Bettembourg set the rhythm early. After PRE had erased the initial 0-4, NIT answered with a 9-0 run, powered by Christopher Teck and Jérôme Bous, to go from 4-4 to 13-4. The visitors led 24-17 after one quarter. Préizerdaul stayed in contact in the second period and reduced the gap to 38-44 at halftime, but never fully changed the balance.
The key stretch came just after the break. Mathis Weyrich scored five straight points to bring PRE back to 43-44, their closest moment since the opening minutes. NIT replied immediately with six in a row and rebuilt control. From 52-62 entering the fourth, Bettembourg's rebounding and inside efficiency decided the game. A late 9-0 burst, closed by threes from Chris Leclerc and Teck, pushed the score to 82-64. The highest lead reached 20 points at 85-65.
El Hadji Modou Thiam Diop (Season PPG: 9.07, RPG: 8.5, AssPG: 1.68) was the standout and MVP with 26 points, 20 rebounds, 5 steals and excellent shooting: 4/4 FT, 10/13 on 2-pointers, 1/1 from 3. Mathieu Ercolani added 15 points, Leclerc 13 points and 8 rebounds, and Teck finished with 12. As a team, NIT posted a good 60% from 2-point range and dominated the boards 42-25.
For PRE, Weyrich (Season PPG: 8.83, RPG: 5.5, AssPG: 1.75) had 13 points and 9 rebounds. Devin Junior Alves Neves (Season PPG: 3.00, RPG: 1.0, AssPG: 0.0) scored 12 with excellent 75% on 2-pointers, and Fredy Anders da Luz Evora added 11 with excellent 2/3 from deep. PRE still had a good 36% from 3, but only 35% on 2-pointers and several main players ended in foul trouble with four fouls.
(AI generated)