Black Star Mersch edged Nitia Bettembourg 98-93 in a close M-U22 N2 game at Bettembourg, reversing the result from the first meeting (57-60) and leveling the season series 1-1. Coach Jérôme Hansen's team built the win early and then survived heavy foul trouble late.
BSM controlled the opening phases, ahead 21-15 after Q1 and stretching the margin to 20 (51-31) in the second quarter behind a dominant Trey Sean Boayue. The captain strung together multiple trips to the line and finishes at the rim, while Sam Tibold added two early threes and a steady inside presence. Nitia stemmed the bleeding just before halftime as Maik Zhan poured in seven straight points for the hosts, but BSM still led 57-44 at the break.
Coach Bradley Gene Melton's side responded with a strong third quarter, outscoring BSM 27-20. Owen Chen (1.76 m, 19, CHN) and Wesley Almeida fueled a 25-13 surge from halftime to 69-70, with Almeida hitting from deep and off the dribble. The visitors, however, found timely answers: Boayue kept scoring inside and Leandro Da Silva Nunes' three in the fourth (81-89) restored a twopossession cushion.
The finish was tight. Almeida (Season PPG: 14.14) matched his season high with 32 and Chen (Season PPG: 20.71) reached 19, while Mathieu Ercolani (Season PPG: 20.33) added 19 and Zhan (4 games, 19) chipped in 15. For BSM, Boayue erupted for a season-high 42, Tibold (Season PPG: 23.50) scored 25, with Raphael Solomon (Season PPG: 13.33) and Da Silva Nunes (Season PPG: 7.67) delivering key late points.
Crucially, BSM closed it out despite three players fouling out, including Boayue and Tibold, as Solomon's free throws and a late point by Pol Hilger sealed the five-point win. Black Star are now on a three-game winning streak; Nitia slide to a fifth straight loss. In the updated classification, Nitia are 5th (-1) and Black Star 6th (no change).
(AI generated)