Racing Luxembourg B edged Musel Pikes B 54-52 in a tight MDivision 1 championshipround game in tramsschap/central, surviving a furious late rally. The opening was balanced (12-12), before Racing imposed control in the second quarter (17-10) to lead 29-22 at the break and 44-33 after three. Early in the fourth, a 6-0 burst on backtoback triples by Franois Aulner and Xavier Engel pushed the gap to 50-33, the night's largest lead (+17).
From there Musel Pikes, guided by coach Guy Schmit, caught fire. Schmit (45) powered the comeback with 13 points in the final period, including a personal sequence of 9 straight points late (two free throws, a two, two more free throws and a three). Musel closed the game on an 11-0 run from 54-41 to 54-52, with Emmanuel Alfred Sadler calmly adding the last two points from the line. Racing did not score in the final minutes, but Aulner's basket at 54-41 proved to be the eventual game-winner.
Engel (37) led Racing with 15 points and the crucial fourthquarter three. Captain Aulner added 10 and managed four fouls down the stretch, while Yann Fux (7) and Wander Nicolas Silvestre Marquez (6) contributed timely twos. Matteo Seracini (29, ITA) gave 4 points and presence inside, and Nicolas Arendt added 4.
For Musel Pikes, captain Guy Schmit authored a standout 28point performance, carrying the offense and scoring in quick succession at the line and from long range. Flix Fechter chipped in 9, Sadler 7 (including those late free throws), while Philippe Reuter scored 4 and Eric Steffen and Luc Kirsch had 2 apiece.
Coach Pit Schneider's group moves to 20 and tops the classification (rank 1, +2), while Musel Pikes B slide to 11 (rank 2, 1). Racing have now won two in a row to start the season.
(AI generated)