Telstar Hesperange won 74-64 away at BC Mess in the M-U18 Division 2 final phase and moved up one place to 1st, while Mess slipped to 2nd. It was also an important response in this matchup, after BC Mess had won the first two meetings of the season.
The game turned twice. Mess opened well with a 6-0 burst for 6-2, but Telstar answered strongly and closed the first quarter ahead 16-12. In the second quarter, BC Mess found its best stretch: Pedrito Kemevuako (Season PPG: 19.89), an 18-year-old 1.80m guard from Angola, pushed his team to a 31-23 lead, the biggest margin for the home side. From there, Telstar changed the rhythm completely. The visitors finished the half on an 11-0 run to go in front 34-31.
That swing was decisive. Mess came back to 36-36 early in the third period, but Telstar kept producing answers, especially through captain Jules Cochet (Season PPG: 14.41), Raffaele Santi (Season PPG: 13.29), Noah Kambire (Season PPG: 8.63) and Juan Joyner Lopes da Costa dos S. (Season PPG: 6.13). Telstar won the third quarter 23-20 and then stayed in control in the fourth.
Cochet led Telstar with 19 points, Santi and Kambire added 15 each, and Lopes da Costa scored 12. Shay Colgan contributed 9, including two important third-quarter threes. For Mess, Kemevuako finished with 27 points and Jamie Freymann (Season PPG: 19.11) added 18. André Cristostomo Ribeiro scored 9.
The last minutes were physical, with Mess trying to stay in contact, but Telstar stretched the lead to 10 at the end. Telstar is now on a four-game winning run, while Mess saw an eight-game winning streak end.
(AI generated)