Musel Pikes edged past T71 Dudelange, 85-76, in M-U18 Division 1: Phase 1, surviving a late scare after leading by as many as 15 at halftime.
Game evolution swung violently. T71 controlled the opening quarter 24-15, with early scoring from Jonas Lies and Kevin Fernandes Vaz plus perimeter punch from Daris Honsic. The second period flipped the script: Musel opened with a 17-0 run to turn 15-24 into 32-24. Geoffrey Schlammes and captain Abram Macalou piled on drives and free throws, while a bench technical called on coach Tom Schumacher arrived amid the T71 drought. Musel won the quarter 35-11 and reached the break up 50-35.
T71 answered after halftime. Honsic (27, FRA) caught fire from deep, Lies added key baskets, and the visitors trimmed the gap to 68-59 after three. The push continued in the fourth: a Tom Kloos triple and two late Honsic threes brought T71 within two at 78-76. Musel then closed with a decisive 7-0 burst free throws by Schlammes, a strong finish by Lucas Majkic Alves da Silva, and the final strike from Macalou securing the win. T71 also absorbed a fourth-quarter technical on Fernandes Vaz.
Top performers
- Musel: Abram Macalou (31) drove the offense throughout the middle quarters; Geoffrey Schlammes (24) was relentless at the line and in the lane; Ben Matthias Schenk (12) added two timely threes; Jules Jacquet (11) supplied steady points in the second-quarter surge.
- T71: Daris Honsic (27, FRA) buried five triples and led the comeback; Charel Brettner (13, 1.93 m) and Lies (12) balanced the scoring; Fernandes Vaz (10) and Kloos (8) provided perimeter support.
Context and table
- Highest leads: T71 by 11 in Q1 (7-18); Musel by 15 at halftime (50-35).
- Runs: Musel's 17-0 to start Q2; 7-0 to finish the game.
- Streaks: T71's three-game winning run ends. New classification: T71 sits 1st (3-1), Musel climbs to 3rd (2-2). Coach Majdi Anan's team splits its first four (loss, win, loss, win).
(AI generated)