AS Soleuvre controlled the second half to beat Racing Luxembourg B 88-72 in Zolwer/Scheierhaf, overturning a 15-22 first quarter and a 36-41 halftime deficit. After RACB's strong start powered by Pete Rajniak and Arthur Lamidiaux at the line, Soleuvre's bench steadied things in Q2 with Tim Heiderscheid and JeanMarc Juchem scoring, and Tom Lahure's group went into the break within reach.
The game flipped after halftime: SOL opened the third with a decisive 8-0 run from 41-45 to 49-45, featuring Pol Diedenhofen inside and Malik Bah in transition, while RACB's captain Raul Calderon Ramos was called for an unsportsmanlike foul. From there, SOL never trailed again. In the fourth, Rajniak kept RACB in touch, but an unsportsmanlike foul saw him foul out; Soleuvre closed on a 9-2 burst to reach the night's biggest lead at +16.
Top performers SOL: Diedenhofen (20 points; 2 FT, 9x2P; Season PPG: 12.50), Lex Lahure (18, 2x3P; Season PPG: 14.58), Rafael Aguiar Sousa (13; Season PPG: 7.17) and Bah (12; Season PPG: 10.50). Nik Lahure added 11, including late free throws. For RACB, Rajniak (27; 6 FT, 9x2P, 1x3P; 16 years old; Season PPG: 11.29) led all scorers, supported by Raphaël Vander Straeten (15; 17, Belgium; Season PPG: 11.33), Lamidiaux (14; Season PPG: 9.50) and Jonathan Droste (11; Season PPG: 4.00). Lamidiaux strung together pairs of free throws in the first quarter, while Rajniak repeatedly converted back-to-back free throws in the middle quarters.
Nicolae Predescu's side had ridden an eight-game winning streak; this result halts it. In the new classification, Soleuvre jumps five spots to first (1-1), with Racing second (1-1). Soleuvre also absorbed Jaysen Ney's foul-out, thanks to stronger depth and a dominant 52-31 second half.
(AI generated)