Five but not six. L'Elan refused, facing a Chorale which had so far only lost once, to continue on the slippery slope which caused it to fall from 4th to 11th place at the end of a sad month of 'october. A success and everything is better? We will have to wait for the next matches, starting with the one against Caen next Tuesday, to find out. But this success against the co-leader brought balm to the hearts of the Béarnais.
How should we interpret the fact that the intensity and commitment put in by the Palois is more than often proportional to the CV of their opponent? Because like in front of Vichy, Antibes or Limoges, Hay's men immediately put the right ingredients in front of the co-leader. The first four minutes, while Raharimanatoanina, well fed by Ledlum put the Elan on the right track, the Roannais had difficulty seeing the circle. In this tense start to the match and marked by a low success percentage on both sides, it was the domination of the Palois on the rebound which would make a difference.
Conquerors on the rebound
With 11 offensive rebounds in the first half (20 in the end), they were going to take advantage of these second chances to get a break. Extra ammunition and skill too, with two long-range baskets from Ledlum and Raharimanantoanina to start the second quarter (25-16, 12e). On the combat side, there was better, but on the lost bullets side, it was still not that and the Choir, fed on it to get back together (29-26). A rather improbable sequence followed, with Sidibé missing an easy lay-up and immediately redeeming himself by hitting a 3-point shot. And as Sherill finished this first half strong, under the gaze of Missonnier, the former leader of Chalon and Denain, who will come to support him in the next match against Caen, Elan took a small lead (38- 34).
Hindered by two fouls committed very early on Oguine, Pinault opened the second period with a triple and Pau was still pushing, like Ledlum's tap dunk, a new basket from far away from Sherill, a well-finished counterattack. by Whyte who followed up with a 3-point shot (55-40, 27th). A comfortable lead which was going to melt away, the Palois experiencing weak weather well exploited by Cingala-Mata in particular. But there was still a nine-point gap at the start of the fourth quarter (58-51).
Ledlum en force
It remained to finish well, which was not at all guaranteed. In Reims and Chartres, the Béarnais also took the lead in the last quarter before sinking steeply. Diot's triple, from the start, and a lost ball, the 13th of the evening, raised fears of a new disaster (60-54). But, this time, Elan did not give up an inch of ground, like Marsillon-Noléo, snatching a rebound from Léopold's arms to send Ndiaye to dunk (65-54, 33rd). After blowing on the bench, Sherill came back to push the advantage to +12 (68-56)… and lost a ball in his camp. And as Ledlum forced things too much, Roanne came closer (68-64, 36th). A triple from Pinault and a buzzer from Ledlum did a lot of good for a suddenly feverish Elan (75-67, 38th). Roos' hot shot, with 3 consecutive triples, brought back the suspense in the last minute (76-73). With a 2+ 1 then a powerful basket, Ledlum put his team in safety 44 seconds from the end.
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