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Douanes defeated Malien 74-58 to get their first win of the tournament and improve to a 1-2 record in the Sahara Conference.
AS Dounaes are finally off the mark in the Basketball Africa League Sahara Conference.
The team's first win came in the third game against Stade Malien Friday night.
Douanes defeated Malien 74-58 to get their first win of the tournament and improve to a 1-2 record in the Sahara Conference.
It was a must-win clash for the Senegalese champions to stay in contention for a spot in the playoffs.
Douanes got out of the blocks early and led 21-17 at the end of the first quarter.
The two sides tied at 12-12 at the end of the second quarter as Douanes maintained a four-point advantage (33-29) going into the halftime break.
Douanes edged the third quarter 14-13 to lead 47-42 going into the game's final quarter.
The home side broke away in the fourth frame and took it 27-16 to win the game by 16 points.
A third straight loss would have had their backs against the wall.
Marcus Crawford led Douanes with a game-high 21 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Brian Osei and Jean Jacques Boissy added 14 and 13 points for Mamadou Gueye's charges.
Stade Malien struggled for offence on the night, shooting 22-for-68 from the field and 11-for-20 from the free throw line.
Douanes' bench contributed 33 points compared to Malien's 19.
Malien were playing without BAL's All-time leading scorer Terrell Stoglin, who struggled in the game against Rwanda's REG.
Souleymane Berthe was the only Malien player to score in double figures; his 17 points were not sufficient for victory.
Mamadou Keita and Aliou Diarra contributed nine points apiece for Kaba Kante's troops.
Both AS Douanes and Stade Malien are now tied on 1-2 records and must win their remaining games of the tournament to progress to the playoffs.
Rwanda Energy Group (3-0) lead proceedings in the conference, while Abidjan Basket Club (2-1) and US Monastir (2-1) follow in that order.
Kwara Falcons remain bottom of the table with a 0-3 record.
Basketball Africa League
Sahara Conference
Friday result
AS Douanes 74-58 Stade Malien
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