Spirou Basket held on to beat Entente Orleans 55-53 on Tuesday night at the Spiroudome, but will surely feel disappointed after letting almost all of a 21-point fourth-quarter lead slip away. The two teams will meet again on Friday with the aggregate winner advancing one step closer to the Euroleague regular season. Spirou seemed destined to advance as it outscored Orleans 25-3 over a 10-minute period from early in the third quarter to early in the fourth to take a 51-30 advantage. But Cedrick Banks sparked Orleans and Austin Nichols took over with 10-fourth quarter points as the visitors dominated the rest of the way. Jerry Johnson led Spirou with 10 points and 6 assists and Dwayne Broyles and Nicholas Jacobson scored 9 apiece. Nichols paced Orleans with 14 points, Ryvon Covile scored 13 and Banks added 12.

It was Orleans that won the opening tip, but Spirou that struck first as Jure Lalic scored on the offensive glass. Orleans quickly took the lead as Banks and Justin Doellman drilled back-to-back three-pointers. Spirou stayed close on a Johnson triple and another Lalic basket, but Doellman’s second three kept Orleans on top. Broyles brought Spirou within 13-14 after 10 minutes. Banks opened the second quarter with a three-pointer only for baskets by Jonathan Tabu and Len Matela to tie the score and a pair of Jacobson threes to cap a 10-0 run that gave Spirou a 23-17 advantage. Orleans did not fold and Covile scored twice as the visitors reeled off 8 unanswered points to regain the lead. Johnson ended the half with a three-pointer that put Spirou up 26-25 at the break.

Covile’s basket saw Orleans regain the lead at the start of the second half, but Spirou went on another charge. This time Jacobson hit again from downtown and Sacha Massot scored 3 in an 8-0 spurt for a 34-27 edge midway through the third quarter. Covile stopped the bleeding, but it was only temporary as Johnson dished to Andre Riddick for a slam and then Johnson sank 2 free throws to give Spirou a double-digit advantage. Tabu further added a triple and despite a Ludovic Vaty free throw for Orleans, Tabu and Lalic combined to wrap up a 20-5 third-quarter that made it 46-30 heading into the fourth. Spirou didn’t let up as Broyles scored from downtown and Lalic hit a layup to stretch the lead to 21. Banks tried to revive Orleans with 6 quick points. Covile followed with a basket-plus-foul and then Laurent Sciarra stole the ball and coasted in for a layup, causing Spirou to call for timeout. Still Nichols stepped up with a three and later scored a bucket to cap a 0-16 run and restore hope for Orlenas heading into the second leg. Johnson ended the Spirou drought, but Nichols fired in another three further narrowing the gap to 55-53 before the final buzzer.