AS Soleuvre edged Nitia Bettembourg 64-63 after overtime in Bettembourg. The opener was balanced (20-20) with Owen Chen setting the tone for NIT, including two baskets in a row to pull the hosts back from 11-15. An unsportsmanlike foul on David-Andrei Cojanu early in Q2 briefly put NIT ahead 21-20, but Soleuvre closed the half stronger for 29-32.
The third quarter swung wildly. NIT strung a 6-0 run (Chen twice, then Maik Zhan) to lead 40-38, only for Soleuvre to answer with a 7-0 burst and later a 5-0 spurt to reach the game's largest gap at 44-50. After three: 49-52. In Q4, Wesley Almeida drilled back-to-back threes, sparking a 6-0 run that swung it to 57-56. Lex Lahure calmly hit two free throws in a row for 57-60 before Mathieu Ercolani's triple forced overtime at 60-60.
In the extra period, Soleuvre opened on a 4-0 run. Cyprien Brochot-Carric (19, FRA) produced the go-ahead basket for 60-62, and Mathis Alex Guiot added what became the decisive points at 60-64. Zhan's late triple cut it to one, but NIT could not find a final look.
Top performers NIT: Chen 20 (Season PPG: 21.0), Ercolani 14 (Season PPG: 20.6), Zhan (NIT) 14, Almeida 11 with those timely Q4 threes. Top performers SOL: Sanches Gomes Junior 13, Brochot-Carric 13 including the overtime go-ahead, Guiot 12 (Season PPG: 7.4), Sanches Gomes Barros 12 (Season PPG: 5.4), and Diego Fine 9 during key third-quarter stretches.
Under coach Hervé Marie-Rose, Soleuvre climbs to 5-1 and second place, now on a four-game winning streak. Bradley Gene Melton's NIT sits 2-4 in fourth, their skid extended to four. Highest leads: SOL +6 (Q3); NIT +1. Soleuvre's composure in the extra five minutes made the difference.
(AI generated)