Nitia Bettembourg won the close relégation game 81-74 and moved to 2-1 against North Fox this season. Bradley Gene Melton's side had to reverse a difficult middle stretch: NIT led 19-17 after 10 minutes, then FOX controlled the second quarter 31-15 and built a 48-34 halftime lead, their highest margin at 14.
The game turned immediately after the break. Bettembourg opened the third period with an 11-2 push, cut the gap to 50-45, then levelled at 52-52 on a Parrish three. By the end of the quarter, the game was completely reset at 56-56. NIT then started the fourth with a 7-0 burst for 63-56, a key winning sequence in a game that stayed tight. FOX answered from 71-64 down to 71-69, but Bettembourg reacted through Brooks-Harris, Parrish and Teck's late three for 81-71 before the final FOX points.
The home side made the difference inside and on second chances: 24 offensive rebounds, 69 total rebounds and 19 assists, compared with FOX's 47 rebounds and 9 assists. NIT also had good 2-point shooting at 55%. FOX matched that inside at 56%, but their 47% on free throws and 13% from three were heavy limits.
El Hadji Modou Thiam Diop (Season PPG: 9.07, RPG: 8.21, AssPG: 1.74) was MVP with 16 points, 24 rebounds and 4 assists, plus 7/10 on 2-pointers. Cameron Brooks-Harris (Season PPG: 24.50, RPG: 12.53, AssPG: 3.20) added a huge 22-point, 21-rebound double-double with 7 assists and 3 blocks. Nicolas Parrish (Season PPG: 18.82, RPG: 6.33, AssPG: 5.04) finished with 29 points and 6 assists, including 6 threes.
For Charel Linden's FOX, Jacob Salinero led with 27 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals and good free-throw shooting (7/9). Charel Linden (Season PPG: 17.56, RPG: 6.03, AssPG: 3.85) scored 23 points and drew 9 fouls, while Jona Hanf (Season PPG: 8.74, RPG: 11.74, AssPG: 1.06) brought 7 points and 14 rebounds. Bettembourg now have 5 wins in their last 6 games.
(AI generated)