Despite a good display in the second game of the Basketball Africa League, (BAL), Kwara Falcons suffered a narrow defeat against fellow West Africans Stade Malien on Tuesday at the Dakar Arena, Senegal.
The Harmony Boys who collapsed in their first match lost just four points as Stade Malien won 78-74 against the flag bearers Nigeria.
After suffering back-to-back defeats, the Falcons have three more matches in the Sahara Conference to salvage their continental campaign if they are to qualify for the knockout stages.
Like the Falcons, Stade Malien also started the campaign on a sour note; lost to US Monastirienne 68-78.
It is natural that both teams will want victory in the West African derby.
At the end of the crunch battle, 21-year-old Aliou Diarra was key for the Malian club with a game-high 23 points after producing 14 points in the first game of the Malian Champions against AS Monastirienne.
Flatter to lie
The Falcons like in the first game started well in the first quarter getting six points but it took a few minutes for the opponent, Stade Malien, to come back to the Harmony boys which eventually the Nigerian club lost 15-18.
Before the end of the first quarter, Aliou Diarra became the first player to reach multiple points after getting 14 points, eight rebounds and two blocks for the whites of Bamako.
The second quarter started in poor form for the Nigerian team who got the basket after Stade Malien took a six-point lead as the team led by Coach Baba Jubril could not beat Diarra.
Jeremiah Mordi’s three-pointer led the charge for the Nigerian team in the game before Anthony Wilson doubled the score.
But the Falcons could only register 16 points as Stade Malien continued to dominate with 18 points late in the second quarter to open up a 36-31 lead.
Just seven seconds into the third quarter, Stade Malien’s captain, Makan Keita, got Malian’s two-pointer.
Diarra hit another two-pointer before Anthony Wilson Jr. The three-pointer made him the first Kwara Falcons player to hit double figures.
Nigerian player Reuben Chinyelu scored 10 points against his country club to become the third highest scorer for Malien.
Meanwhile, the third quarter was a disaster as the Falcons were outscored 28-18.
Diarra, who was absent in the third quarter, entered the fourth quarter by scoring a free-throw seconds after the game started.
The 21-year-old Malian was soon sent off after five personal fouls before time expired.
With the damage done, the Falcons outscored Maliens 25-14 in the fourth quarter but the Bamako Whites emerged victorious 78-74.
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