Big second half lifts Nancy to second place

SLUC Nancy got a win to clinch the second place in Group C, crushing previously eliminated Proximus Spirou Charleroi 87-62 on Wednesday. Nancy finished the regular season with 6-4, while Spirou ends its campaign in the last place with 3-7. Nancy controlled the contest for most of the night, but broke the game open with an 18-3 third quarter run for 63-46 lead, and never looked back. On a balanced attack, Ryan Reid led Nancy with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals. Randal Falker scored 12, Sergii Gladyr netted 11, and Valentin Bigote 10 points. Zabian Dowdell had 13 points and 6 assists for the visitors, William Hatcher scored 12, and Andre Collins 11.

Spirou had a better start to the contest, with Torin Francis scoring 7 points, Hatcher nailing a three-pointer and Loic Schwartz going coast-to-coast for a dunk and 10-16. But a triple from Florent Pietrus at the end of the first quarter closed it within 19-20, and Nancy took over a slim lead and kept it early in the second through Reid before Darius Adams and Gladyr fueled a 12-3 spurt capped by a put-back from Falker for 35-25. Margin reached 12 points before the end of the quarter, as Falker and Vaughn Duggins got Nancy 43-33 halftime lead. Christophe Beghin scored twice from close range and Dowdell hit one from long range to get Spirou to 45-43 in the third, but back-to-back three-pointers from Bigote started Nancy’s charge. Reid score 6 points as the lead grew to 65-48, and Gladyr hit a pair of threes in a 14-2 run to open the fourth quarter made it 79-50 and Nancy cruised to victory