Arantia Larochette overpowered Sparta Bertrange 83-68 in Larochette with a blistering start that decided the night early. Coach Karolis Abramavicius' team opened 14-1, pushed it to 25-4 and closed the first quarter at 35-10. Sparta used an early timeout to stem the bleeding, but Arantia kept control to 57-29 at halftime and stretched the highest lead to 29 (71-42) late in the third.
Lee Brosius (Season PPG: 30.2) set the tone and the finish: 31 points on a mix of drives and perimeter shots, including 8 points in the last minutes (a 3, a layup, then the dagger three) to snuff out Sparta's late surge. Inside, 16-year-old, 1.98m center Lars Bosdijk (Season PPG: 11.4) added 18, and Mathis Dieterlen (Season PPG: 16.7) matched him with 18, repeatedly cashing in at the line (six made free throws).
Coach Elton Jorge Ferreira's Sparta showed character in the fourth with a 26-12 quarter and a 10-0 run from 80-58 to 80-68, driven by Jules Wurth (17) and Ata Tastekin (10), with support from Nikolaos Papanikolaou (16, GRC) and Thandizo Jon Zulu (15, SVN). Earlier, Zulu picked up two quick fouls in the third, as did Dieterlen on the other side, but no foul-outs impacted the outcome.
Arantia move to 5-0 and climb to first place (ranking gain +2), extending their winning streak to five. Sparta drop to 2-3 and remain fourth, now on a two-game skid.
(AI generated)