Sparta Bertrange B edged Etzella Ettelbruck B 85-79 in Deichwisen/Central, taking a close one behind decisive late-game plays. The first quarter was a shootout: Sparta raced to 40-34, fuelled by Nikolaos Papanikolaou (16 pts) splashing four threes and Nicolas Hittelet (15) adding three more. Tom Germeaux (25, 20, 1.99m) strung together consecutive baskets late in the period to stretch the lead to +7 (31-38), Sparta's largest of the night.
After the break, Etzella flipped the momentum. From 44-53 down, they delivered a 15-2 run to lead 59-55, with captain Sam Schaaf (25; Season PPG: 17.33) relentless inside, supported by Oreoluwa Oke (15) and Axel Bieux. Etzella's highest lead stopped there. Hittelet calmly hit four free throws in a row across the third/fourth quarters to swing the score to 64-67 and restore Sparta's control.
The fourth quarter hinged on a brief exchange: Charel Wilmes tied it at 67-67 with a three, but Germeaux immediately replied with five straight points (a two and a three) for 67-72 and later drilled another triple for 69-75. Christophe Logelin added the final basket for 79-85 to close it out. Captain Pol Schwartz (12) contributed five free throws, while Mathieu Verharen Würth chipped in 11 timely points. Coach Karl Abou Khalil's group also got valuable perimeter balance from Papanikolaou and Hittelet.
For Etzella, Schaaf battled through foul trouble (4th personal early in Q4) to carry the offense, Oke provided steady scoring, and José Miguel Domingos Sanches (11; Season PPG: 16.17; 19, PRT) hit from deep in the third to spark the comeback. Lenny Lopes Morais added 10.
Sparta moves up to 4th (+3) at 8-5 and is now on a three-game winning streak. Etzella slides to 10th at 5-8 after a third straight loss. Notably, the first meeting between these sides was decided by forfeit in Sparta's favor; this time they finished the job on court.
(AI generated)