M-ENOVOS League, Qualification round, esch/ho1: Etzella Ettelbruck overpowered Basket Esch 95-70, riding superior shooting and a dominant glass control (46-32 rebounds, with 43 on the defensive end).
Game evolution
- Start: Etzella burst to 0-8 as Philippe Gutenkauf (30, 1.83m) hit two early triples around a Nicholas Thomas Davis (24, 2.01m, USA) layup. An unsportsmanlike on Davis opened the door for Esch; Quinten Nelson (26, 1.85m, USA) sank two free throws and Esch briefly led 9-8, but Thomas Henkel (32, 1.90m, DEU) answered with back-to-back threes for 11-19 before the quarter ended 21-23.
- Q2: Jordan Hicks (35, 2.01m, USA) ignited Esch with 8 quick points to 26-23. The period swung back and forth; Billy Ray Mc Daniel Jr (41, 1.96m, USA) splashed two threes and Etzella reached the break up 46-42.
- Q3 turning point: Esch tied at 53-53 on a Dino Ceman (23, 1.98m) triple and went ahead 56-53 after another Hicks three. From there Etzella produced a decisive 19-4 run: Davis at the line and inside, and Adrian Delph (25, 1.95m, USA) from deep (two threes) pushed it to 72-60 at the buzzer.
- Q4: Etzella closed on an 11-0 burst, highlighted by 7 straight from Philippe Gutenkauf and a late three by Marvin Delgado dos Santos (16), to finish at +25. Earlier in the quarter, Frédéric Gutenkauf committed a personal and a technical in succession.
Numbers
Etzella shot efficiently: 69% on 2-pointers (good) and 39% from three (good). Esch had an excellent 86% at the line but struggled from the field (40% 2P, 26% 3P). Despite winning steals (11-2) and turnovers (7 vs 13), Esch could not offset Etzella's rebounding edge.
Leaders
- Etzella imports: Delph 23 pts (6/6 2P, 3/6 3P); Davis 19 pts, 15 reb; Mc Daniel Jr 18 pts, 9 reb.
- Etzella locals: Philippe Gutenkauf 21 pts, 7 reb, 7 ast; Eric Zenners (24, 1.98m) 6 reb; Henkel 7 pts.
- Esch imports: Hicks 22 pts (5/10 3P); Nelson stuffed the sheet with 9 pts, 8 reb, 6 stl, 5 ast.
- Esch locals: Clancy Rugg (34, 2.03m) 13 pts; Damien Thill (22, 1.90m) 10 pts; Emmanuel Jesus Frederico (16, 2.00m, CPV) added 2 blocks.
Coach Gavin Love's team has now won two in a row. Coach Franck Meriguet's side briefly flipped the game in Q3 before Etzella's decisive run settled it.
(AI generated)