First-ranked AB Contern stretched its winning streak to six and gradually turned this M-Nationale 2 meeting with 5th-ranked Bascharage into a one-sided game. Bascharage started well and led 14-9 after back-to-back threes from the 29-year-old 1.94m Hungarian forward Veljko Dragasevic (Season PPG: 20.20, RPG: 2.40, AssPG: 5.60), with Deni Sabotic also active early. Contern then changed the rhythm with a 15-4 finish to the first quarter for 24-18.
The decisive sequence came in the second period. Nigel Tolentino's team held Bascharage to only 5 points and built a 45-23 halftime lead. After the break, Christophe Mertzig (Season PPG: 8.20, RPG: 3.29, AssPG: 4.57) hit consecutive threes, and Contern kept adding pressure until the margin reached 68-37 after three quarters. Early in the fourth, a 9-0 push lifted the score to 77-39, the game's highest lead at 38 points.
The 26-year-old 2.00m USA forward/center Cameron Brooks-Harris (Season PPG: 26.33, RPG: 10.29, AssPG: 4.43) was again decisive: 30 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks for the game MVP. He posted excellent 2-point shooting at 9/12 and good free-throw shooting at 9/11. Gabriel Solomon (Season PPG: 9.33, RPG: 1.88, AssPG: 3.00) added 17 points with an excellent 5/10 from three, while Jeffrey Schumacher (Season PPG: 15.00, RPG: 7.13, AssPG: 2.50) filled the stat line with 9 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals. Mertzig finished with 11 points on an excellent 3/5 from deep.
Contern shot well as a team: 80% on free throws and 51.2% on 2-pointers, with 18 assists and a 47-38 rebounding edge. For Bascharage, Dragasevic scored 11, Sabotic (Season PPG: 13.60, RPG: 4.33, AssPG: 5.67) had 8, and Luka Jovicic (Season PPG: 5.00, RPG: 2.83, AssPG: 0.33) gave efficient minutes with 7 points on perfect shooting.
(AI generated)