Leuven Bears edged T71 Dudelange 68-61 in a balanced friendly at grimler/central, decided by key runs after halftime. The visitors controlled the start (19-10 after Q1), but T71 answered with a 21-12 second quarter to level it 31-31 at the break, helped by Jimmie Taylor (T71) and a triple from Christopher David Jack (27, 1.98m).
Right after the interval Taylor put up five in a row for 36-31, before Leuven flipped the game with a 10-0 burst: Kelton Telford and Roel Bucumi scored, and Will Pruitt (LEB) capped it with a three for 36-41. Despite a bench technical on coach Kristof Michiels, the Bears carried a 52-48 lead into Q4, Taylor briefly halting the slide with three straight free throws.
T71 closed to 54-55 after Davide Grun (25, 1.86m), but Guillaume Demol strung together four points and Victor Vanderstraeten added two in a 6-0 spurt to 61-54. Leuven managed the final minutes to claim the win.
Top scorers: Pruitt (LEB) 15, Telford (LEB) 11, Vanderstraeten (LEB) 10; Taylor 19, Mekhi Jermaine Long (24, USA) 14, Jack 10, Grun 9 for T71. Notable for T71: Joe Kalmes (29, 2.00m) started, scored 5 and fouled out, affecting the inside rotation. The game featured unsportsmanlike fouls on both sides (Fabian Agbodenou (20) and Wen Mukubu (LEB)). Coaches Christophe Ney and Michiels traded adjustments throughout as Leuven executed better in the decisive stretches.
(AI generated)