Adams leads Nancy to big road win

SLUC Nancy registered its third consecutive win in Group C by topping Proximus Spirou Charleroi 73-88 on the road on Wednesday. Nancy improved to 4-1 in Group C while Spirou dropped to 1-4. Darius Adams paced the winners with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Florent Pietrus added 16 points, Bandja Sy had 14, Randal Falker got 13, 8 rebounds and 5 assists while Sergii Gladyr had 12 points on 4-of-6 three-point shots for Nancy. Wen Mukubu led Spirou with 25 points on 9-of-14 two-point shots. Dylan Page added 12 while Amaury Jadin had 11 for Spirou, which led 19-18 after 10 minutes and extended its margin to 24-18 right after that. A great team effort and an outstanding Adams made Nancy get a 38-44 edge at halftime. A jumper by Page gave Spirou its last lead, 50-48. Falker had all points in a 0-7 run which allowed the guests to keep a 59-61 margin after 30 minutes. A rain of three-pointers in the final 8 minutes - Sy, Adams and Gladyr each hit 2 - allowed Nancy to break the game and cruise to a well-deserved win.

Pietrus and Gladyr shined early to give Nancy a 3-7 edge. Mukubu followed a jumper with a layup and Leigh Enobakhare put Spirou ahead 9-7. Pietrus scored again and Adams struck from downtown but William Hatcher and an unstoppable Mukubu restored a 14-12 Spirou edge. Adams kept pacing Nancy with a layup but Mukubu and Page boosted the hosts' lead to 19-14. Pietrus and Falker brought Nancy within 19-18 after 10 minutes. Jadin hit a triple and Eric Wise dunked to make it a six-point game, 24-18, early in the second quarter. Nancy found a new go-to guy in Valentin Bigote, whose 5 unanswered points sparked a 2-10 run which Kim English capped with a triple to put the guests back ahead, 28-30. Spirou got the lead back, 32-30, but another 0-7 run which Gladyr capped with his second bomb from downtown put Nancy ahead, 32-37. Jadin hit a triple and Page added a three-point play but Adams singlehandedly gave Nancy a 38-44 edge at the break. Loic Schwartz and Mukubu fueled a 6-0 run that made Spirou tie the game, 46-46, right after the break. A jumper by Page soon put Spirou back in front, 50-48. Falker took over with 7 unanswered points but Wise and a three-point play by Mukubu kept Spirou within 55-57. Back-to-back baskets by Pietrus kept Nancy ahead, 59-61, after 30 minutes. Falker scored down low and a dunk by Sy made it a six-point game, 59-65. Mukubu dunked but back-to-back triples by Adams and Sy broke the game open, 61-71. Adams insisted from downtown and so did Gladyr for a 66-77 Nancy margin with over 3 minutes left. Spirou kept trying but Nancy had already cruised to a big road win.