T71 Dudelange B controlled Nitia Bettembourg B 84-65 in a game shaped by a blistering start and a dominant third quarter. Coach Serge Logelin's team opened on a 14-0 run and won the first quarter 34-10, with Lenn Dondelinger (Season PPG: 12.8) and Uros Malesevic (19, 1.95m) pouring in early points. Nitia steadied behind an 8-0 spurt to begin the second frame and took that period 24-13, trimming the gap to 47-34 at halftime.
The key swing came after the break: T71 tightened the screws defensively (23-9 in Q3), pushing the lead to a game-high +27 at 70-43. From there, Nitia rallied in the fourth (22-14) but never seriously threatened.
Shot profile told the story. T71 sank 31 two-pointers to Nitia's 23, while Nitia stayed afloat at the line (13 made FTs to T71's 4). Dondelinger finished with 20 points, including nine field goals from two-point range, supported by Nils Schroeder (20, 1.90m) with 18, Len Guedes (Season PPG: 15.8) with 12 and Malesevic with 14. Karim Chakir (Season PPG: 9.67) added a timely triple.
For Nitia, Owen Chen (19, 1.76m, CHN) led with 17, Wesley Almeida (Season PPG: 10.71) had 15, and Ben Molling (32, 1.86m) 12. Player-coach Jonathan Mechin rotated widely, but early foul trouble didn't help Nelson Pinto picked up two quick personals in the first quarter and later scored his 3 points from the line.
T71 improve to 5-4 and sit third in M-Division 2. Nitia are 2-6 in 10th, their losing streak stretching to six.
(AI generated)