Musel Pikes edged T71 Dudelange 75-74 in the Espoirs qualifications at grimler/terrain1, a game that swung violently before being decided in the final seconds. The opening quarter was balanced (18-20), with T71 briefly up 11-6 after a Noah Jeitz three and a Len Guedes free throw, before the visitors closed better.
Coach Adrien Jacquet's side took control in the second period (14-26). Marko Mustafic (20, HRV) hit from deep and at the line, Emilijus Greicius added five straight points late, and Jules Henri Ghislain Jacquet buried a triple as the gap stretched to 32-46 at halftime. Early in the third, Jason Hartz (18, 1.74m) drilled another three for the night's biggest margin, +17 (32-49).
From there, Coach Serge Logelin's team launched a forceful response. Spanning late in Q3 into early Q4, T71 produced a 26-9 run to seize a 62-61 lead. Guedes powered the first punches after the break, and inside finishes from Uros Malesevic (19, 1.95m) and Karim Chakir followed. Lenn Dondelinger (18, 1.92m) kept attacking the rim, and with Malesevic piling in points on the block, T71 moved up 70-65 and later 72-69. In the middle of Musel's first-half surge, Nils Schroeder had also nailed back-to-back threes, a six-point burst that had briefly steadied T71.
The closing minutes belonged to the visitors. Luca Monteiro Delgado struck twice in the paint to trim the margin, and with the game on a knife-edge, Mustafic sank the decisive basket for 74-75. A final T71 timeout could not change the outcome. Musel were the game winners.
Top performers: for Musel, Hartz led with 17, Mustafic 13 including the game-winner, Monteiro Delgado 12, Enzo Sanna (20, 1.92m, FRA) 12, and Greicius 10. For T71, Dondelinger scored 18, Malesevic 16, Schroeder 13 and Guedes 12.
In the table, Musel Pikes climb four places to 1st (2-2), snapping a two-game slide. T71 sit 8th (1-2) after a second straight loss. The highest lead was Musel's +17; T71's best cushion was +5 in the fourth.
(AI generated)
T71 Dudelange 
Musel Pikes 
