Paris-Levallois stuns Nanterre 78-51 in French Pro A

Round 13 action of the French Pro A 2016-17 regular season was capped off with a duel between two teams from the Top 5. Paris-Levallois shocked a visiting JSF Nanterre club, busting out a dominant 78-51 victory. This is the fourth loss for Nanterre, but they still hold on to third place in the league standings with their 9-4 record. Paris-Levallois is now just one game behind a spot in that coveted Top 3 position with their 8-5 slate. For now, Monaco still sits atop of the standings with their impress 11-2 record. They secured a 77-62 win over Strasbourg IG, on the 18th.

The win by Paris-Levallois was stunning, not only because they defeated a Top-3 team, but because of how they did it. Paris-Levallois demolished Nanterre and went on a run as early as the first quarter. They amassed a double-digit lead and raced to a 23-12 advantage by the end of the first period. In the second quarter, it was just more of the same, and Nanterre could not address their defensive lapses in time. As both clubs headed to their respective locker rooms for the halftime break, Paris-Levallois’ lead had ballooned to 48-22, well out of reach of any significant rally. After the break, it was all but over as the teams went through the motions, as if Nanterre had accepted its fate and the loss.

Matthias Lessort did his best to keep his team in it. He ended the night with a team-high 21 points. However, he was the lone bright spot on the Nanterre squad having quite the lackluster night. No one else scored above six points, and Lessort was unable to carry them on his shoulders.

Jason Rich led Paris-Levallois impressive game with 21 points of his own. Vincent Poirier chipped 17 points as well. To their credit, Paris-Levallois had excellent execution of their gameplan in this game. They dished out 20 assists compared to just nine by Nanterre. This was a good game for them to build some much needed momentum going forward.

Here are the other results of the games in Round 13:

Monaco vs. Strasbourg, 77-62

Gravelines vs. Antibes, 75-67

Le Mans vs. Limoges, 71-77

Orleans vs. Chalons-Reim, 89-84

Pau-Lacq-Orthez vs. Dijon, 75-67

ASVEL vs. Cholet, 71-67

Hyeres-Toulon vs. Nancy, 69-56

Le Portel vs. Chalon, 74-83