Amicale Steesel overpowered AS Soleuvre 103-84 at Scheierhaff in the National Lottery Cup quarterfinal, overturning a torrid start by the hosts with a ruthless second-half display.
Soleuvre jumped to a 32-20 first-quarter lead behind early scoring from Christian Jeffrey Parker (SOL) and Felix Whitcomb Kloman (SOL). Daniel Alves Brandão de Sousa's side steadied in the second: Alex Laurent (32, 1.98m) scored inside and out, Scott Morton (38, 1.96m) was perfect at the line, and Amicale sneaked ahead 48-47 at halftime after a 15-28 quarter.
The game flipped decisively right after the break. Amicale unleashed a 29-0 run from 47-48 to 47-77, with Laurent, Morton, Noah Medeot and Malcolm Richardson all on the sheet; the visitors peaked at +30. Soleuvre tried to respond in the fourth through Kloman, Sandro Sanches Gomes Junior and captain Gilles Weis, whose three-pointer was later cancelled, but Bob Rech came in to drill three late triples for Amicale.
Amicale's efficiency told: 61% on 2s, 47% from three and 80% at the line (all good, plus a 40-30 rebounding edge and 21 assists to Soleuvre's 6. Soleuvre hit 83% FTs ( good but struggled at 46% on 2s and 19% from deep.
Standouts
- Home core: Weis drew 8 fouls and had 9 points (5/6 FT). Kley Cirikovic added energy.
- Home imports: Kloman led SOL with 24 (8/8 FT) but 2/11 from three; Parker posted 19 points and 9 rebounds; Sanches Gomes Junior supplied 16 with 2/3 from three.
- Visitors' core: Laurent owned the night with 27 on 4/5 FT, 7/8 2P and 3/3 3P, plus 6 boards and 3 assists (MVP). Noah Medeot added 15, including three triples; Jonas Theisen contributed timely baskets.
- Visitors' imports: Morton delivered 16 (6/6 FT) during the pivotal surge; Richardson (31, USA) balanced the offense with 9 points and 7 assists. Kelvin Almeida added 9 via three triples, though he picked up an unsportsmanlike in the fourth.
Eric Bettini's team set the early tone, but Amicale's third-quarter eruption and ball movement decided it in front of 160 spectators.
(AI generated)