US Heffingen C won 88-71 away at Sparta Bertrange C after taking control in the second half of a game that had been tight for more than 30 minutes. Sparta, coached by Philip Groff, started better and led 19-16 after the first quarter. Early in the second period they pushed the margin to 26-18, their highest lead, with Christian Wolf (SPAC) and Danny Weiwers (SPAC) active in the half court.
Heffingen, under coach Manuel Scholtus, stayed close through Joel Thesen (38, 1.85m), who was the central scorer all evening. Sparta still led 46-45 at halftime, but the turning point came after the break. From 55-50 down, Heffingen closed the third quarter with a 14-3 run to move in front 64-58. Thesen and Manuel Scholtus (HEFC) drove that swing, while Sparta's offense slowed.
The home side briefly stayed in contact in the fourth and reduced the gap to 71-75. From there, Heffingen finished on a decisive 13-0 run. Thesen scored 11 of those closing points, repeatedly getting to the line and converting inside, before Simon Maes (HEFC) added the final basket.
Thesen finished with 42 points, an exceptional total, and Scholtus added 25 with five made 3-pointers. Robert Brinck (26, 1.86m) gave 6 points before fouling out. For Sparta, Wolf led with 17, Weiwers and Florian Loic Strauch (31, DEU) scored 12 each, Kevin Andrade Alves added 10 and Gil Bové 9. Strauch fouled out late.
In the standings, Heffingen moved up three places to 3rd at 2-1, while Sparta remained 8th at 0-3 after a third straight loss.
(AI generated)