Nitia Bettembourg controlled this M-Nationale 2 relegation opener from the first minutes and beat Rebound Préizerdaul 104-47. PRE scored first through Welton Djon Silva do Rosario, but NIT answered with a 10-0 run and quickly took command. After 20-12 in the first quarter, Bettembourg broke the game open in the second: from 20-12 they moved to 37-16, then closed the half on a 20-9 stretch for 57-25. Coach Bradley Melton's side kept the same rhythm after the break, opening the third quarter with another 11-2 push and stretching the margin to a game-high 57 points.
The statistical gap was clear. NIT won the rebound battle 64-44, forced 34 turnovers, collected 26 steals and finished with 24 assists. Their 2-point shooting was good at 58% (25/43). PRE struggled at 35% on 2-pointers (20/57), only 36% on free throws (4/11) and 6% from three-point range (1/17).
Nicolas Parrish (26, 1.75m, USA; Season PPG: 18.82, RPG: 6.41, AssPG: 4.73) was the game MVP with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Cameron Brooks-Harris (Season PPG: 24.50, RPG: 11.46, AssPG: 2.92) added 23 points, 14 rebounds and 7 steals. Mathieu Ercolani (Season % 1P:58.1, 2P:47.8, 3P:46.2) scored 14 points, while captain Christopher Teck hit 5 three-pointers for 17 points. El Hadji Modou Thiam Diop also helped the inside game with 8 points and 10 rebounds.
For PRE, Silva do Rosario (Season PPG: 10.00, RPG: 10.67, AssPG: 0.50) was the main positive with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Zachary Legg added 9 points.
NIT extended its good spell to five wins in the last six games, while PRE's losing streak reached six.
(AI generated)