Basket Esch stole home court in game 1, beating Amicale Steinsel 76-61 and taking a 1-0 lead in this best-of-3 quarter-final. After four straight losses overall and after losing both qualification meetings with AMI, LAL changed the matchup with a much stronger second half.
Amicale started sharply under coach Daniel Alves Brandao de Sousa. Sherrell and Richardson gave the hosts early control, Morton hit from outside, and Steinsel led 21-12 after the first quarter. In the second, Esch cut the gap from 25-16 to 25-22 with a 6-0 run, then later came back to 30-28 and 35-32, but AMI still held a 38-32 advantage at the break.
The game turned after halftime. From 40-32, Esch went on a 13-2 stretch to move in front at 45-42, with Clancy Rugg (Season PPG: 19.86, RPG: 9.12, AssPG: 2.81) and Jordan Hicks (Season PPG: 15.29, RPG: 5.21, AssPG: 1.71) setting the tone. LAL then opened the fourth quarter with 15 unanswered points, transforming 52-55 into 52-70, the decisive run of the night. Amicale answered with 8 straight points to get back to 60-70, but Esch closed better.
Basket Esch had good team shooting from three at 36% and finished with 14 assists. MVP Rugg delivered 19 points and 16 rebounds. Hicks added 16 points and shot an excellent 4/7 from three. Dino Ceman scored 16 with 6/8 free throws and 5/8 on two-pointers, and Quinten Nelson produced 13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.
For Steinsel, Malcolm Richardson (Season PPG: 15.91, RPG: 8.10, AssPG: 5.27) scored 14 points, Ashton Sherrell (Season PPG: 23.57, RPG: 8.80, AssPG: 1.00) had 14 points and 12 rebounds, Scott Morton added 11, and Alex Laurent scored 9. Laurent was disqualified late in the fourth after a sequence of fouls and technicals, during a phase when AMI was already chasing the game.
(AI generated)