Nitia Bettembourg overpowered BC Mess 102-68 in the M-U22 N2 Qualifications at Bettembourg (terrain 1), riding a dominant first half and a 12-0 blast to open the third quarter. The game opened with Owen Chen (17, 1.76m, China) scoring 6 of Nitia's first 10 points, and Aaron Rodrigues-Otto strung together five straight late in the first to push the lead to 32-17, on the way to 37-24 after 10 minutes. The second quarter decided the contest: a 27-9 frame, driven by relentless rim pressure from Mathieu Ercolani (35), sent Nitia to the locker room up 64-33.
After the break, Nitia came out with a 12-0 run (64-33 to 76-33) and later reached a highest lead of 41 points at 102-61. Mess saved some pride by taking the fourth 24-20.
Ercolani was the game's reference inside with 35 points, notably 16 made two-pointers. Rodrigues-Otto added 19 (including three from long range and steady trips to the line), Chen had 17, and Wesley Almeida 15. For Mess, captain John Mira (34) carried the offense with four threes and steady free throws, while Bryan Hensen added 15 and Tom Jadin 9; Raphal Alves Nunes hit two late threes to reach 8.
Key moments included two quick early fouls on Mess guard Mauro Gammaitoni, and an annulled basket for Nitia's Jack Da Costa Fernandes in the third. Mira played through four fouls after the break. Coaches Mike Ricardo Mendes Araujo (NIT) and Joao Carlos Santiago Janeiro (MES) used timeouts to stem runs, but Nitia controlled tempo throughout.
In the standings, Nitia moves to 2-0 and first place (ranking gain +2), now on a two-game winning streak. Mess starts at 0-1, sixth.
(AI generated)