First-placed Musel Pikes B moved to 2-0 with a clear 105-51 home win over 10th-ranked Sparta Bertrange B, but the game was not fully one-sided at the start.
Musel went up 14-4 in the opening quarter, with Emmanuel Sadler (46, MUSB) and Eric Steffen (34, 1.83m) setting the tone. Sparta stayed in contact through Pol Schwartz (28, 1.80m), who scored 12 points in the first period and had a run of 6 points in a row. That kept the score at 23-18 after 10 minutes.
The visitors even stayed within one possession in the second quarter. Andrew Blanchard (SPAB) helped cut the gap to 25-24, and later Sparta was still close at 29-27. Musel answered well before the break, mainly through Steffen and Sadler, to restore a 43-33 halftime advantage.
The decisive moment came immediately after halftime. Chris Dentzer (36, 1.78m) scored 7 points in a row, and Musel completely broke the game open with a 32-2 third quarter. After Lukas Maver (SPAB) made it 52-35, Musel closed the period on 23 unanswered points to reach 75-35. That stretch settled everything.
Musel then controlled the fourth quarter and pushed the highest lead to 54 points at the end. Steffen finished with 28 points, Sadler added 26, Dentzer 16 and Raphael Martin (32, 1.86m) 11. Sparta's main scorers were Schwartz with 16, Maver with 14 and Blanchard with 14.
Musel had strong scoring balance with nine different scorers, while Sparta's offense faded badly after a competitive first half.
(AI generated)