Nitia Bettembourg won 92-79 in Reuler and moved up to 1st place in the relegation group (8-1, +1 rank), extending its current streak to four straight wins. North Fox stayed 4th at 3-6.
The game stayed competitive for a long time. The first quarter ended 23-23. FOX then opened the second period with a 7-0 burst to lead 30-23, but NIT settled again and edged in front 43-42 at halftime. After the break, NIT gradually took control, winning the third quarter 21-16 for a 64-58 lead. FOX still stayed close at 62-66 and 65-67 in the last period, before the visitors produced the key sequence: an 8-0 run from 71-75 to 71-83. Their lead later reached 15 at 75-90.
Coach Bradley Melton's team was stronger inside. NIT shot 67% from 2-point range and a good 36% from three, while FOX had good percentages from 2-point range (55%) and three (41%) but suffered badly at the line at 43%.
FOX leaned heavily on 29-year-old USA guard Jacob Matthew Salinero (Season PPG: 20.29, RPG: 9.46, AssPG: 3.85), who posted 35 points and 10 rebounds. Mathys Neves (Season PPG: 5.14, RPG: 2.17, AssPG: 0.51) added 16 points with an excellent 5/9 from deep, and 2.04m center Jona Hanf (Season PPG: 8.74, RPG: 11.92, AssPG: 1.00) contributed 8 points.
NIT had the game MVP in Cameron Brooks-Harris (Season PPG: 6.68, RPG: 9.00, AssPG: 1.00), dominant with 28 points, 17 rebounds and 2 steals. Nicolas Saquan Parrish (Season PPG: 19.21, RPG: 6.31, AssPG: 5.12) delivered 18 points and 15 rebounds, shooting an excellent 12/13 on 2-pointers. El Hadji Modou Thiam Diop (Season PPG: 9.74, RPG: 8.54, AssPG: 1.56) added 25 points on an excellent 12/14 from two-point range, while Daniel Prior Torralba scored 10 with an excellent 3/4 from three.
(AI generated)