In this direct duel between teams now level on a 7-10 record, Musel Pikes C won clearly in Larochette, 78-47, and moved up to 6th place (+4), while Arantia Larochette C is 7th (+2).
Musel set the tone early with a 21-12 first quarter. Arantia stayed in touch in the second period and briefly made the game competitive again. After trailing 12-26, the home side answered with a 14-7 stretch to close to 26-33, with points from Li Dong, Xu Lin, Wallid Abdou Balde Said Aly and a late three by Sascha Schmit. At halftime, the gap was only seven.
The game turned decisively after the break. Musel opened the third quarter strongly and quickly pushed the score from 33-26 to 41-26. That run broke Arantia's rhythm. The visitors kept scoring through several hands, won the quarter 25-7 and extended the margin to 55-30. From there, the fourth quarter was mostly control basketball, and Musel's lead peaked at 74-38.
Sven Klauner (Season PPG: 6.60) delivered his best scoring output of the season with 24 points, including several key three-pointers. Christian Heinesch (Season PPG: 15.44) added 23 and was especially important in the first and third quarters. Krzystof Radzimski (Season PPG: 5.33) supported well with 13, many of them during Musel's decisive third-period push.
For Arantia, 42-year-old Lithuanian Alvis Kasteckas (Season PPG: 21.63) again carried the offense with 22 points and scored six straight in the first quarter to keep his team alive. Balde Said Aly Wallid Abdou (Season PPG: 4.13) had 7, Schmit 6 and Xu Lin (Season PPG: 4.93) finished with 5. Arantia has now dropped a fourth straight game, while Musel responded well after losing the first meeting between these teams 55-89 earlier in the season.
(AI generated)