French League, Game 23: March 25-29, 2008
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The French League returned this week and Le Mans confirmed its status as the team to beat by beating Asvel Basket 75-86 on the road on Friday. Le Mans leads the standings at 18-6 while Asvel ties with Sluc Nancy for second place at 16-7. Nicolas Batum paced the winners with 23 points while Yannick Bokolo added 17 on 8-for-9 two-pointers for Le Mans. Nancy did not find much trouble to beat Orleans 85-62 at home on Saturday behind 16 points from Michael Bauer. Meanwhile, Chorale Roanne moved up to 15-8 by topping Cholet 60-68 on the road on Saturday with 23 points from Marc Salyers. Pau-Orthez improved to 10-13 and got closer to playoff territory by downing Clermont 88-94 on the road on Tuesday. Jeff Trepagnier paced the winners with 24 points. Elan Chalon also moved up to 10-13 by topping Hyeres-Toulon 81-74 at home on Saturday behind 23 points from Bryan Bracey. Strasbourg went down to 11-12 due to a 60-64 home loss against Dijon. In other games, Gravelines-Dunkerque downed Paris-Levallois 71-88 while Le Havre topped Vichy 80-88.
Le Mans leads the standings with a 18-6 record by beating Asvel Basket 75-86 on the road on Friday. Batum paced the winners with 23 points. Bokolo added 17 on 8-for-9 two-pointers, Phil Ricci added 14 while Alain Koffi and Raviv Limonad each got 11 for Le Mans. Lamayn Wilson had 17 points for Asvel, Robert conley added 15, Chevon Troutman got 14 and Laurent Foirest 10 for the hosts, that overcame an early deficit to lead 54-50 late in the third quarter. A three-pointer by Batum ignited a 0-10 run that he capped with free throws for a 54-60 Le Mans edge. Bokolo stepped up with 11 points in the final 7 minutes, including a wild dunk that allowed Le Mans to seal the outcome, 66-79, minute before the final buzzer. Nancy improved to 16-7 and now ties for second place with Asvel by thrashing Orleans 85-62 at home on Saturday. Bauer led the winners with 16 points. Jeff Greer added 14, his brother Ricardo had 13, Victor Samnick got 12 while Zaki Aboucabar scored 10 points in an easy home win for Nancy, that led 44-27 at halftime and kept a safe lead in the second half. Chorale Roanne moved up to 15-8 by topping Cholet 60-68 on the road on Saturday behind 23 points from Salyers. Derrick Byars added 14 while Pierric Poupet and Brion Rush each had 10 for Roanne, that had already sealed the outcome, 38-54, after three quarters. Free throws by Pape Badiane and Rush allowed Roanne to hold off a wild Cholet rally in the final 4 minutes.
Pau-Orthez improved to 10-13 by downing Clermont 88-94 on the road on Tuesday. Trepagnier paced the winners with 24 points. Deji Akindele added 18, Antonio Graves had 15 while Thierry Rupert and Max Stanic each got 12 for Pau. Trepagnier had 14 points in the first quarter to make Pau get a 15-31 edge after 10 minutes. The guests ahead all the way since that moment, but Clermont got within 79-84 with 3 minutes to go. Akindele dunked it, Stanic buried a critical triple while Graves also stepped up to win it for Pau. Elan Chalon also moved up to 10-13 by topping Hyeres-Toulon 81-74 at home on Saturday. Bracey led the winners with 23 points. John Ford added 17, Jermainde Guice had 16 while Rowan Barrett got 10 for Chalon, that led 46-28 at halftime. Hyeres-Toulon wasn't donw, however, and got within 61-55 late in the third quarter. Bracey and Guice stepped up to make Chalon seal the outcome long before the final buzzer. Strasbourg went down to 11-12 due to a 60-64 home loss against Dijon. David Simon led the winners with 18 points. Derrick Obasohan had 13 points for Strasbourg, that rallied from a 20-point deficit in the final 16 minutes to get within 60-62. Free throws by Damir Krupalija allowed Dijon to put the victory on ice.
LAST GAME GAME 23
March 28-29, 2008 | | Day | Match | Result | | Mar. 25 | Clermont vs. EB Pau Orthez | 88-94 | | Mar. 28 | Asvel Basket vs. Le Mans | 75-86 | | Mar. 28 | Paris-Lev. vs. Gravelines | 71-88 | | Mar. 29 | Nancy vs. Orléans | 85-62 | | Mar. 29 | Vichy vs. Le Havre | 80-88 | | Mar. 29 | Cholet vs. Roanne | 60-68 | | Mar. 29 | Strasbourg vs. Dijon | 60-64 | | Mar. 29 | Chalon/Saone vs. Toulon | 81-74 |
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NEXT GAME GAME 24
April 4-5, 2008 | | Day | Match | | Apr. 4 | Hyeres-Toulon vs. Paris-L. | | Apr. 4 | Roanne vs. Asvel Basket | | Apr. 5 | Le Havre vs. Nancy | | Apr. 5 | Dijon vs. Clermont | | Apr. 5 | Le Mans vs. Chalon/Saone | | Apr. 5 | Pau Orthez vs. Strasbourg | | Apr. 5 | BCM Gravelines vs. Cholet | | Apr. 5 | Orléans vs. Vichy |
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| STANDINGS | TG | W | L | P+ | P- | | 1 | Le Mans | 24 | 18 | 6 | 1875 | 1722 | | 2 | Asvel Basket | 23 | 16 | 7 | 1971 | 1832 | | 3 | Nancy | 23 | 16 | 7 | 1888 | 1714 | | 4 | Roanne | 23 | 15 | 8 | 1904 | 1825 | | 5 | Le Havre | 23 | 13 | 10 | 1934 | 1914 | | 6 | Vichy | 23 | 13 | 10 | 1558 | 1514 | | 7 | Cholet | 23 | 12 | 11 | 1709 | 1714 | | 8 | Strasbourg | 23 | 11 | 12 | 1762 | 1733 | | 9 | Hyeres Toulon | 23 | 11 | 12 | 1816 | 1792 | | 10 | EB Pau Orthez | 23 | 10 | 13 | 1723 | 1807 | | 11 | Chalon/Saone | 23 | 10 | 13 | 1747 | 1771 | | 12 | Orléans | 23 | 10 | 13 | 1694 | 1750 | | 13 | Dijon | 23 | 9 | 14 | 1785 | 1878 | | 14 | BCM Gravelines | 23 | 9 | 14 | 1767 | 1853 | | 15 | Paris-Levallois | 23 | 8 | 15 | 1706 | 1767 | | 16 | Clermont | 24 | 4 | 20 | 1632 | 1885 |
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