CHALON-SUR-SAÔNE (FIBA Europe Cup) – There are a number of reasons for Elan Chalon to enter the FIBA Europe Cup trophy match-up against Nanterre 92 high in confidence, namely the fact that Jean-Denys Choulet's side have won both of the head-to-head contests between the clubs this season.

The first of the meetings took place at the Palais des Sports Maurice Thorez in the Parisian suburbs back in October and ended with a 25-point win for the visiting Chalon-sur-Saône club, who also took care of business against Nanterre after overtime in Le Colisée later in March.

It is exactly these two games that separate the two FIBA Europe Cup Finalists in the Pro A standings, with Elan Chalon currently second with a 20-7 record and Nanterre sharing fourth place with SIG Strasbourg at 18-9.

NANTERRE 77-92 ELAN CHALON
Palais des Sports Maurice Thorez — October 22, 2017

After starting the season with four wins on the trot, Nanterre's first defeat in league play came after a sub-par showing against Elan Chalon which ended in a 92-77 defeat in front of their own fans.

John Roberson led the visitors with a game-high 22 points and 8 assists after converting 6-of-9 attempts from beyond the arc in one of his first three-point barrage displays of the season.

Moustapha Fall collected 13 points and 6 boards, Axel Bouteille and Cameron Clark both chipped in with 12 points apiece for Elan Chalon, while Mareks Mejeris and Jeremy Nzeulie added 11 and 10 respectively.

Latvian forward Mejeris did not stay in Chalon-sur-Saône for too long, departing France to rejoin VEF Riga already in December. The other key contributors in this game have remained Elan Chalon's cornerstones throughout the season.

ProA J5 : Nanterre 92 vs Elan Chalon by JSFNanterreOfficiel

Meanwhile, point guard Chris Warren scored 20 points and dished out 6 assists for Nanterre, but wasn't able to salvage a forgettable overall performance by his side, who made just 44 percent of their shots in comparison to 57 percent by the visitors.

Spencer Butterfield needed 13 field goal attempts to get up to 11 points, while Talib Zanna, who was one of only three Nanterre players to shoot over 50% from the field, added 10 points.

ELAN CHALON 94-90 NANTERRE (OT)
Le Colisée — March 18, 2017

Things were much closer between the teams when they faced off for the second time in March, with Elan Chalon coming out as the unlikely 94-90 winners after miraculously saving themselves at the end of regulation.

An intentionally-missed free-throw by John Roberson with 2.8 seconds on the clock ended up bouncing right into the hands of Moustapha Fall, who converted the game-tying shot with little defense around him.

The momentum of the game shifted towards Elan Chalon in the extra period, during which the hosts outscored Nanterre 15-11 with the joint efforts of Roberson and Fall continuing to work wonders.

Roberson was once again the leading scorer of the game with 23 points, but it was Fall who undoubtedly was the hero of the game with 18 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocked shots.

#ProA : Olalalala ! 🔥🔥🔥 Le gros travail de Moustapha Fall ... qui vient claquer ce dunk après s'être joué de Mathias Lessort ! @LNBofficiel pic.twitter.com/yMmIhNC9fA

— SFR Sport (@SFR_Sport) March 18, 2017

In the absence of Cameron Clark, back-up big man Abdoulaye Loum stepped up for coach Choulet's short-handed squad, posting a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds, despite going 5-of-17 from the field.

Nanterre couldn't capitalize on the favorable position they had put themselves in late in the fourth quarter in spite of a poor shooting night, which once again saw them waste too many good outside looks, going 9-of-31 from deep.

Spencer Butterfield had a much-improved performance of 20 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, Brian Conklin scored 17 points, while Hugo Invernizzi and Heiko Schaffartzik collected 14 points each.

Chris Warren added 13 points and 6 assists.

Nanterre had won both of their previous overtime games in Pro A against ASVEL and Dijon. Meanwhile, for Elan Chalon, it was the only extra period they played in the domestic championship this season.

The first leg of the all-French FIBA Europe Cup Finals will take place in Chalon-sur-Saône next Tuesday at 20:30 CET, with Nanterre hosting the return game the following week.

FIBA