AS Soleuvre won a tight Phase finale game against AB Contern, 81-79, and moved up to 2nd place (+1), while Contern slipped to 3rd (-1).
The game changed hands several times. Soleuvre started better and reached the first significant gap at 15-8, then closed the opening quarter 21-17. Contern reacted well in the second period through Emil Dostert (Season PPG: 22.07) and Max Muller (Season PPG: 12.42), turning the game around and taking a 37-34 halftime lead.
The third quarter was the key swing. Contern pushed in front 53-47, with Dostert on a clear roll and scoring 14 points in that period alone. But Olivier Haan's team answered strongly: from 47-53, Soleuvre finished the quarter on a 14-5 run to lead 61-58.
In the fourth, Michael O. Ayodele's side struck back again. Contern moved from 61-58 to 67-62 and later held a 75-72 advantage. Soleuvre then produced an 8-0 burst from 62-67 to 70-67, fueled by Nik Lahure (Season PPG: 26.19), Yann Conan (Season PPG: 10.23) and Max Kunen (Season PPG: 12.64). The endgame stayed level at 77-77 and 79-79 before Pit Simon (Season PPG: 7.79) scored the decisive basket for 81-79.
Lahure led Soleuvre with 27 points, Conan added 17, and Simon finished with 8 including the winner. Kunen also had two important second-half threes. For Contern, Dostert was outstanding with 37 points, Bakayoko (15, FRA) added 14 but fouled out late at 79-79, while Wies (Season PPG: 12.50) and Muller scored 9 each.
Across the season series between these teams, Soleuvre now leads 2-1.
(AI generated)