Telenet Ostend jumped to a sole possession of the second place in Group A, after holding off Le Mans Sarthe Basket 71-80 on Wednesday night. Win improves Ostend to 4-1, while Le Mans drops to 3-2 in the third place of the group. Ostend held the lead and control in the first three quarters, as margin reached 44-61 midway through the third quarter. But the hosts rallied with a 19-0 run that bridged the third and the fourth quarter, and regained 63-61 lead. However, Andrija Stipanovic and Ryan Thompson combined to score next 15 visitors’ points, as Ostend re-claimed the lead and held on for victory. Thompson finished with 25 points and 6 assists, while Stipanovic had 20 points plus 6 rebounds. Quentin Serron scored 10 for Ostend, while Dashaun Wood led the hosts with 17 points. Alain Koffi scored 12, and Pape Sy had 10 for Le Mans.

After trading leads in the early going, Dusan Djordjevic sparked Ostend’s run with a basket-plus-foul, and Thompson finished the first quarter with a triple for 19-26. Vaughn Duggins had a layup-plus-foul and a three-pointer for the hosts in the second quarter, but Serron and Thompson hit back-to-back three-pointers, before a layup from Veselin Petrovic extended the lead to the double-digits, 27-38. Ostend went into halftime up 33-45, and following the break, Stipanovic extended it to 36-51. After Wood scored 8 points, including two triples for the hosts, Mateusz Ponitka and Thompson each scored a triple and a layup for 44-61. However, Antoine Eiot ended the quarter with a three-pointer for 49-61, before Le Mans opened the fourth on an 11-0 run. Koffi scored three times from close range, before Sy and Eito nailed one apiece from long range for 63-61. But Stipanovic made a layup before Thompson scored 7 points to put the visitors back in the lead. After Wood cut it to 69-72, Thompson made a dunk-plus-foul, and Stipanovic scored once again from close range to seal the deal.