AB Contern edged Musel Pikes 81-78 in Contern/central, a close finish in front of 220 spectators. The visitors started better (22-27 after Q1), fueled by Tristin Matthew Walley (22 pts; 7/8 FT) and perimeter shots. Contern flipped the script with a 26-15 second quarter: from 24-30 down, they strung together a 24-10 run to lead 48-40 at the break, driven by Mathieu Arendt and Joshua Ferguson.
Contern built their biggest lead at 62-51 in the third after Olivier Summer's triple, but Musel answered. The Pikes opened the fourth with six unanswered points and moved ahead 68-69, then extended to 68-71 behind Tom Welter's free throws. Arendt calmly tied it at 71-71 from deep, and Contern replied with a 9-2 burst to 80-73 (baskets by Ferguson and Jeffrey Schumacher). A late bench technical on coach Anthony Franck Tomba gave Esosa Kelvin Okundaye extra free throws; he sank three in a row to trim it to 80-78, before Ferguson sealed it at the line.
Shooting told a lot: Contern were solid inside (28/52, 53.8% 2P - good), while Musel lived at the stripe (23/25, 92% FT - excellent) but struggled from the field (17/44, 38.6% 2P; 7/25, 28% 3P). Maurice Gordon (11 pts, 9/10 FT) fouled out late, a blow for the visitors.
Top performers
- Contern (locals): Arendt (Season PPG: 9.56, RPG: 2.56, AssPG: 2.56) 14 pts on 6/9 FG, Summer (Season PPG: 7.00) 9 pts (3/3 2P, 1/2 3P), Lazar Lukic (Season PPG: 9.89) 6 pts.
- Contern (imports): Ferguson (2.03m, USA; Season PPG: 19.11, RPG: 11.67) 17 pts and MVP (25 ranking), Landon Andrew Lowder (25, USA) 15 pts.
- Musel (locals): Konan Boglin Oth (Season PPG: 11.33, RPG: 7.55) 16 pts (7/14 2P), Sam Streef (Season PPG: 13.89) 11 pts (3/6 3P).
- Musel (imports): Walley (2.01m, USA; Season PPG: 17.22, RPG: 11.00) 22 pts, Okundaye (Season PPG: 12.33) 10 pts (5/5 FT).
Context: Contern stopped an eight-game slide and sit 12th (1-8). Musel, now 5th (3-6), are on a five-game losing streak. Coach Brian Walker Carroll's side stayed close thanks to elite free-throwing, but Contern's timely run and interior efficiency carried the day.
(AI generated)