Black Star Mersch beat North Fox 97-71 in Reuler, controlling every quarter and pulling away after the break. The visitors opened 0-6 (Sarlette, Dieterlen), FOX replied to 6-6 through Charel Linden and Jacoby, but BSM closed the first at 14-20. In the second, triples by Sarlette and Besenius kept Mersch ahead, 35-44 at half.
The game broke open in the third. Kurt Matthew James II (30) caught fire with 12 straight points for BSM, pushing the score from 43-48 to 43-60. An 8-0 burst to end the period (Urwald from deep, James from deep, then Kloss inside) made it 51-71. FOX started the fourth with a Hanf triple, but Mersch answered immediately; the lead peaked at 26 and never came under threat. Two unsportsmanlike fouls were assessed (Urwald in Q3, Dos Reis Fernandes in Q4).
James II led all scorers with 36 on sharp shooting: 6/8 FT (good), 9/18 2P, 4/6 3P (excellent). Support came from Kevin Sarlette (28, 1.86m, BEL) with 14 points, 4 assists and 5 steals, Desean Hampton (26, USA) with 11 and solid work on the glass, plus Besenius (29) hitting three triples (11 pts). For FOX, Jona Hanf (22, 2.04m, BEL) posted 15 points, 17 rebounds and 1/1 from three (excellent) before fouling out late; Stéphane Banga Kpako (31, 1.80m, BEL) added 16 and drew 10 fouls; Loïc Alphonse Jacoby (21, 1.77m) had 15 on 2/3 from deep (excellent).
Key numbers favored BSM: 10/29 from three (34%) versus 3/12 (25%), a 27-17 edge on offensive rebounds, and far fewer turnovers (11 to 26). That, plus the third-quarter surge, defined the outcome. Coach Rainer Kloss's side is 2-0 and tops the table (two wins in a row); Mike Pravisani's FOX sit 0-2. Notably, BSM featured two professional players while FOX had none, a factor at this level.
(AI generated)