Arantia Larochette overpowered US Heffingen 88-55 in the M-Coupe des Jeunes 1/8 finales in Heffingen, building a decisive lead in the opening minutes and never looking back. Arantia hit first and hard: a 0-7 start ballooned into 12-34 after 10 minutes, forcing an early timeout from coach Jos Alberto Pais Costa in the 4th minute. The visitors' perimeter and transition punch defined the first quarter, with Mathis Dieterlen (17, 1.83m, FRA) catching fire for 16 points in the period on the way to 21 (5x2pt, 3x3pt, 2 FT).
Heffingen steadied in the second quarter (18-18), largely through Danilo Hess (17, 1.90m), who poured in 30 points, including 12 free throws and nine 2-point field goals. He scored in bursts across all four quarters to keep HEF afloat. Yet Arantia always found answers: Lee Brosius (17, 1.92m) strung together five straight points early in Q2 and finished with 27 (9x2pt, 2x3pt, 3 FT). The visitors led 30-52 at halftime and 43-67 after three.
Any hope of a late push was snuffed out at the start of the fourth. Brosius buried two key threes in quick succession, pushing the margin from 50-69 to 50-75. Dieterlen added another flurry, and Jim Spaus (9 pts) and Lars Bosdijk (9) closed it out. Arantia's scoring balance stood out: eight made threes (Brosius 2, Dieterlen 3, Daems, Diderrich, Spaus one each), plus 25 made 2-pointers and 14 free throws. Heffingen managed just one triple (Laforgia).
For HEF, Hess was relentless, and starters Ethan Steinmetz (9 pts, 5 FT) and Tun Elcheroth (8 pts) chipped in, but both later fouled out, compounding problems. Arantia also got strong minutes from Vincent Diderrich (9) and Finn Reckinger (6, 4 FT).
Coach Joao Pedro Osorio Silva's side controlled the game evolution from tip to buzzer, holding the highest lead at +33. With this win, Arantia advances to the quarterfinals of the cup.
(AI generated)