Black Star Mersch B opened the M-Division 2 championship round with a 55-47 home win over Nitia Bettembourg B and moved into 1st place, with NITB 2nd after the first game.
Game evolution was clear for three quarters. BSMB started through Pit Jaans (BSMB), who scored the first 3 points and set the tone. After NITB cut to 4-2, Mersch answered with a 9-0 phase to build an 11-2 lead, then closed the first quarter 13-9. The second period was important: BSMB opened it with 8 points in a row for 21-9, and Lisa Hilges' team kept control despite a small NITB reaction, reaching halftime at 30-19.
The decisive stretch came in the third quarter. NITB got back to 30-21, but BSMB answered well, with Dan Mathes (BSMB) hitting from long range and Pol Rodesch (BSMB) scoring 5 straight points during a strong sequence. Mersch led 48-30 after three quarters, then reached its highest lead at 53-32 early in the fourth.
From there, the game became closer. NITB produced a 15-2 run to finish, led by Nelson Pinto (NITB) and the Picco duo, but the gap from the first three quarters was too large and BSMB held on.
Jaans was the top scorer with 21 points, including 4 three-pointers. Rodesch added 8, while Erik Daling (36, 1.94m, NLD) gave BSMB 6 points. For NITB, Pinto scored 15, Eric Picco (NITB) added 14 and David Picco (NITB) 9.
BSMB had a small scoring edge in every main category: 15 made 2-pointers against 13, 6 made 3-pointers against 5, and 7 free throws against 6.
(AI generated)