French Pro A: Le Mans edges Strasbourg 67-68
Le Mans Sarthe Basket handed French Pro A league leader, Strasbourg IG its fourth loss after a close 67-68 game in Round 26 of the regular season. Despite the loss, Strasbourg still has a one-game lead over JSF Nanterre for the league’s top spot. This was an important win for Le Mans as it improves their record to 13-13 and they are now one game shy of cracking the Top 8. This game is just another testament as to the competitiveness of France’s premier basketball league.
Strasbourg played host to Le Mans in this affair, but it was the visitors that warmly welcomed them with some assertive offense from the opening whistle. Was it a case of complacency? Perhaps, but to give credit where it is due, Le Mans did put up a good show in the first quarter and they stunned Strasbourg with an early 12-point advantage and the score settled at 10-22. The second frame was a more defensive encounter and Strasbourg cut into the lead, taking it to the more manageable single digit range. The lower scoring quarter resulted in a halftime score of 25-34.
Le Mans’ Daniel Ewing continued to carry his team after the break, but Strasbourg’s strong team play matched his individual scoring effort in this frame. Both clubs wound up dead even as far as the scoring was concerned in the third. Still down by nine points, with the fourth and final quarter staring Strasbourg in the eyes, the top French Pro A team needed to pull out all the stops for a serious comeback. Strasbourg put up a valiant effort in the final period, but Le Mans did enough to hold on for the win.
Daniel Ewing was a true protagonist for the Le Mans squad in this game. He finished with a game-high 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field, which included two long bombs from deep. Charles Kahudi and former Dallas Maverick guard Rodrigue Beaubois added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Three Strasbourg players shared the honor of garnering the most points. Jeremy Leloup Louis Campbell, and Bangaly Fofana each scored 11 points.