Coupe de France basketball third round, Digi Mart USA News: The two winners advance to the round of 16, joining Hyères-Toulon, which received a bye to that stage in the draw.
The two teams were tied 51-51 at the start of the third quarter when Blois went on an 18-2 run over six minutes. Lucas Demahis-Ballou (18 points, 5 assists) and Hugo Bequignon (13 points, 6 rebounds) led that stretch.
Bequignon had already been named player of the match in the previous round, when Blois beat Tours 100-84.
Demahis-Ballou, 22, and Sacha Defoundoux, 17, started and finished as Blois’s top scorers with 18 and 15 points. Arthur Bouba added 12 points.
Blois shot efficiently, hitting 60 percent of its two-point attempts and 40 percent of its three-point attempts.
Denain, coached by Thomas Andrieux, who arrived on the northern club’s bench in the spring, had eliminated Gravelines-Dunkerque in the previous round, 106-81. The club, sole leader of Élite 2 since the sixth matchday, saw its young starters struggle: Oscar Wembanyama and Maxime Sconard scored 2 points between them.
In the other Monday game, Berck was never seriously threatened at Besançon. Grismay Paumier recorded 8 points, 14 rebounds and 3 assists.
Alan Robert Suarez made 5 of 8 three-point attempts. Augustinas Venckus scored 18 points for Besançon, which has won only one of its eight NM1 matches this season.
The third round continues Tuesday, November 3. Antibes (Élite 2), which eliminated Roanne 80-78 in the previous round, hosts Pau-Lacq-Orthez at 7:30 p.m.
local time, with a seven-point advantage at tip-off. At 8:00 p.m., Dijon and Limoges meet in the only Betclic Élite club matchup in this round.
Boulogne-sur-Mer hosts Rennes on Monday, November 9 at 7:00 p.m., Poitiers hosts Caen on Tuesday, November 10, and the date for Challans-Nancy has yet to be set.
Nancy qualified Sunday on the court of ASA Basket, winning 93-87 in a rescheduled second-round match. The Lorraine side trailed by 17 points at the end of the first quarter (39-22), including a seven-point handicap, before turning the game around with 24 points from Stéphane Gombauld.
The winners of this third round will meet the eight Betclic Élite representants entering at this stage: the seven quarterfinalists from the last championship and Chalon, which replaces Monaco.
