Domestic round-up: Elan Chalon win again, unsuspecting Nanterre punished in Cholet
MUNICH (FIBA EUROPE CUP) - There were contrasting results for the two FIBA Europe Cup Finalists in the French LNB Pro A mid-week action, as Elan Chalon picked up their third consecutive victory, while Nanterre 92 got on the wrong side of a blowout against Cholet Basket.
Both of the teams will play another round in the domestic championship during the weekend before shifting their attention to Tuesday's first-leg duel in the FIBA Europe Cup Final.
NANCY 74-106 ELAN CHALON
Elan Chalon had no problems away from home against bottom-of-the-table SLUC Nancy, making easy work of the likely relegation candidates with a sweeping 106-74 victory behind big performances by the once-again-magnificent trio of Cameron Clark, John Roberson and Moustapha Fall.
LIVE - J27
— Elan Chalon (@ELANCHALON) April 11, 2017
VICTOIRE !!!
Nancy 74-106 Elan Chalon
Prochain match samedi au Colisée contre Le Portel #RougeEtBlanc pic.twitter.com/kWrohfQb2Z
Jean-Denys Choulet's side pulled away by double figures in the second quarter and never looked back, with Clark providing most of the fuel in the escape with another near triple-double performance of 27 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists.
Roberson added 20 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists, while Fall, who has been on an incredible stretch of late, made his inside presence felt with 17 points, 12 boards, 3 assists and 2 blocks.
The win allowed Elan Chalon to preserve their second place in the table with a 20-7 mark behind league leaders AS Monaco, who have a four-game lead over their nearest rivals from Chalon-sur-Saone.
CHOLET 85-54 NANTERRE
In a lackluster performance not at all reminiscent of their own selves, Nanterre hit a brick wall on the road against the 14th-placed Cholet Basket, dropping to a surprisingly large 85-54 defeat at Le Meillaraie and tumbling down to fifth place in the standings with an 18-9 record.
Ce soir @CB_officiel a régalé la Meilleraie avec une victoire importante face @Nanterre92 : 85-54 ! #GoCB pic.twitter.com/JLBsWnynd5
— Cholet Basket (@CB_officiel) April 11, 2017
Having connected on just 18-of-58 attempts from the field and lost the rebounding battle 42-21, the visitors from the Parisian suburbs simply did not stand a chance in western France after allowing Cholet to run away already in the opening quarter.
"It was a deserved win for Cholet. We were dominated throughout the match. Cholet are a very competitive side and they've lost a lot of games in the league by very small margins this season," said head coach Pascal Donnadieu after a performance to forget.
Brian Conklin was the only player in double-figures for Nanterre with 11 points, playmaker Chris Warren chipped in with 9 points and 5 assists, while forward Mykal Riley came up with 8 points.
Heiko Schaffartzik did not suit up in the game.
FIBA