Musel Pikes controlled BC Mess in Mondercange, 84-66, behind dominant interior scoring and a fast start. Coach Majdi Anan's side jumped out 7-0 and led 22-8 after the first quarter, with Abram Macalou and Geoffrey Schlammes repeatedly finding lanes. The visitors kept their foot down in the second (23-17) to reach halftime up 45-25.
Mess, guided by coach Joao Carlos Santiago Janeiro, answered with a 9-0 burst to open the third (from 25-45 to 34-45), but Musel immediately replied with a 6-0 run capped by Jules Jacquet and Schlammes to restore a safe cushion (39-54). The gap peaked at +22 (52-74) in the fourth before late free throws trimmed the final margin.
Musel's front line decided it: the Pikes sank 35 two-pointers Macalou (25) and Schlammes (21) combined for 20 of them (40 points). Jacquet added 14 (4 FTs, 5 twos), and captain Omar Youssef Essid (Season PPG: 16.2) had 18 before fouling out in the fourth, by then with the game in hand.
Mess leaned on shot-making from deep and at the stripe 23 from Pedrito Kemevuako (Season PPG: 19.4), 16 from captain Jamie Freymann (Season PPG: 16.4; 1.80m), and 11 from 17-year-old André Cristostomo Ribeiro (PRT). Bryan Hensen chipped in 9, including a third-quarter triple, while Yann Krings was steady at the line (7). Freymann twice hit pairs of free throws in succession during the fightback.
In the standings, Musel Pikes climb to second and string back-to-back wins, while BC Mess remain winless in this championship round and see their losing streak extend to five.
(AI generated)