In Round 10, Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse edged Umana Reyer Venice 78-81 on a game-winning three-pointer by C.J. Harris. The shooting guard finished that game with 19 points and is his team’s leading scorer so far this season with 15.1 points per game.

With Harris sidelined for Round 11’s clash against Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana, Bourg needed players to step up. But Coach Laurent Legname could not have expected to have seven players score between 9 and 13 points for an incredibly balanced effort. Harris’s backcourt mates Axel Julien and Hugo Benitez were chief among the major contributors to lead the team to victory and the club’s first back-to-back wins of the season.

Julien set a club record with 10 assists and added 12 points for the first double-double of his EuroCup career. He orchestrated the offense beautifully and made 4 three-pointers for the third time this season. Julien, who held Bourg’s previous record with 8 assists, also matched his personal best in PIR. Those 8 assists and previous PIR of 24 both came in Round 2 this season, also against Cedevita.

When Cedevita rallied in the fourth quarter to get within 62-60 with 5 minutes remaining, Julien took the game by the horns for Bourg. He promptly responded with a three-pointer. However, Yogi Ferrell matched him with a three. So Julien found Rasheed Sulaimon open for a three and then Julien made another. Nine points from three possessions made it 71-63 and Bourg was on its way.

Reserve point guard Benitez was called on for s season-low 4:46 minutes in the win over Reyer. He took just 1 shot, did not score and dished 1 assist. Against Cedevita, Benitez saw four times as many minutes and put them to excellent use. He scored 10 points on perfect shooting – 1 two-pointer, 2 threes and 2 free throws – and dished 2 assists. He scored the first 5 points of the second quarter, including a go-ahead triple after a Julien steal, that gave Bourg the lead for good.

Thanks to the play of the two guards, Bourg committed just 10 turnovers for the second week in a row. This time, the team even raised its assist totals from 18 to 19. With such great ball movement, Bourg also shot well from downtown again, making 12 of 29 threes (41.4%).

Of course, without Harris there to make threes, others had to shoot. Bourg’s top scorer against Cedevita was Maxime Courby, who netted 13 points on 3-of-6 three-point shooting. Against Reyer, Courby matched his season-low with 2 points and did not attempt a single three-pointer.

Indeed, the contributions came from all nine members of the rotation and led to an important victory that could have Bourg climbing the standings soon.