US Heffingen B opened the championship round with an 88-79 road win at Arantia Larochette B. After this first game, Heffingen sits 3rd in M-Division 1, while Larochette is 6th.
Larochette started better and went up 6-0, but Heffingen answered quickly and the first quarter stayed close at 25-24 for the visitors. The game changed in the second period. Larochette briefly moved ahead 28-25, then Heffingen took control through a strong collective stretch. The visitors put together the key run of the night and won the quarter 28-14 to lead 53-38 at halftime.
The third quarter confirmed that trend. Heffingen kept the pace high, added another 19 points, and stretched the margin to 72-53. Early in the fourth, the gap reached 21 points at 78-57, the highest lead of the game. Larochette reacted well late, winning the last quarter 26-16 and trimming the deficit to nine, but the earlier damage was too large.
For Larochette, Pedro Nunes Jordao (38, 1.82m) led the scoring with 25 points. Laurent Majerus added 17, while Marc Backendorf and the 43-year-old Lithuanian Alvis Kasteckas (1.83m) both finished with 11. Nils Bosdijk contributed 8.
Heffingen had more scoring depth. Lou Demuth (26, 2.13m) produced 20 points, Joel Thesen scored 18, and Nils Rock added 16. Lee Bourgeois had 10, with Pit Reiter and Max Schmit both on 9. That balance was decisive, especially in the second quarter when Heffingen built the separation.
(AI generated)