AS Soleuvre edged Sparta Bertrange B 69-65 at Atert/Terrain1 in a close M-U18 Division 3 game decided in the final seconds. The visitors started sharper (21-16 in Q1), with Rafael Aguiar Sousa and Diego Fine setting the tone before Malik Bah came in and added steady scoring. Sparta answered in Q2 behind Konstantinos Laliotis and Tim Reisdorffer, and Thomas Boccara's late three leveled it 34-34 at halftime.
The turning point came right after the break. From 36-34 down, Soleuvre strung together a 10-0 run: Aguiar Sousa hit free throws, Lex Lahure finished at the rim, Fine added a free throw and Bah buried a triple for 36-44. With added contributions from Jaysen Ney and Lenny Hertert, SOL closed the third up 52-44 and later built the largest lead to 55-68 in the fourth.
Sparta made it a thriller late. Boccara sank a free throw, then Tian Kuharic (Season PPG: 15.88) scored three baskets in a row, and Laliotis (Season PPG: 12.0) drilled a three to cap a 10-0 run for 65-68. Aguiar Sousa split late free throws to secure the win. The fourth quarter also saw an unsportsmanlike foul (U2) on Martin Cezard Mangel, adding to the tense finish.
Top performers:
- AS Soleuvre: Malik Bah (17 points: 5x2, 1x3, 4 FT; Season PPG: 7.8) led the way, Diego Fine (13; Season PPG: 9.4) hit a key 3 and a 2 in succession in Q4, Lex Lahure added 8 (Season PPG: 14.8), Pol Diedenhofen 7 (Season PPG: 12.2). JeanMarc Juchem (14) chipped in 5 in Q2, including a three.
- Sparta Bertrange B: Tian Kuharic 17, Laliotis 12 with two threes, Jazz Pelkes 9, Boccara 8, Reisdorffer 7, and IsamuVincent Boisclair (15, JPN) added 5.
With this result, AS Soleuvre climbs to 2nd place (+1) at 3-2, while Sparta remains 4th at 1-4. Coach Hervé MarieRose's side has now posted back-to-back wins; Christophe Dubois' team fought back from 13 down but ran out of time.
(AI generated)