Sparta Bertrange edged BC Mess 74-69 in Reckange in a close M-U14 Division 1 Phase finale game marked by swings and late composure from the visitors.
Sparta opened sharper, building an early +7 (10-17) and taking the first quarter 18-12. Mess answered with a 25-15 second quarter behind Fabio Freymann (24 pts, Season PPG: 19.0) and Nils Müller (20 pts, Season PPG: 18.27) to lead 37-33 at halftime. Early in the third, Mess pushed to +6 (39-33), but Petar Kulisic (22 pts, Season PPG: 29.09) strung together three consecutive baskets to tie it at 41-41, and Sparta turned the period to a 55-52 advantage.
A pivotal moment came late in Q3 with an unsportsmanlike foul on Kulisic; Mess harvested only one point from the sequence. Sparta then opened Q4 with a 6-0 burst to 61-54 and later stitched a 7-1 run from 62-63 to 70-63, their largest lead (+9). Mess rallied to 67-72 through Freymann and Müller, but Alexander Möller (21 pts, Season PPG: 14.55; 13, SWE) closed it out, and Sparta were the winners.
Mess lived at the line (15 made free throws to Sparta's 6) and kept contact thanks to Noa Priso Dikoume (15 pts, Season PPG: 14.64; 13, FRA), but lost starter Eli Nosbusch to five fouls in the third. On the other side, Kulisic overcame his Q3 hiccup to score important late points, while Anton Mercier (21 pts, Season PPG: 12.10) and Möller gave Sparta a steady interior engine (Sparta totaled 31 two-point field goals).
Coach Yann Ewert's group remains perfect in this phase (2-0), up to 2nd, and extends a season-long winning run to 11 games. Fernand Musquar's Mess begin the Phase finale at 0-1 (5th) after dropping two of their last three.
(AI generated)