Al Ahly bounce back after first loss to defeat ASC Ville de Dakar 78-72 in a thriller

Al Ahly bounce back after first loss to defeat ASC Ville de Dakar 78-72 in a thriller

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WIth both teams trying to assert their dominance early in the game, it led to Ater Majok heading to the line early where he made both free throws to open the scoring and to put ASC Ville de Dakar in an early lead. The deadlock went on for another minute before Axel Toupane scored a layup to extend Dakar's lead. This went on for some time as Dakar got an 8-0 lead. It took Al Ahly five minutes before they could score their first point, a three-pointer by John Jordan. This sparked another three-pointer by Moursi Khalaf before he hit a floater to bring both teams leveled.

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Angok Deng then sank a beautiful fadeaway for Dakar. The game was only gettig heated as the big man, Osayi Osifo, showed his range when he hit a three-pointer to regain the lead fpr Al Ahly. Solo Diabate, two-time BAL champion, stole the ball, sliced through the defense and scored a layup for Dakar. The quarter as brought to an end when John Jordan converted both free throws to give Al Ahly a 15-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.

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John Jordan did not let off and started the quarter with a pull up jump shot to extend Al Ahly's lead. It was short-lived as Axel Toupane tipped in a layup. However, Zack Lofton shot a fade away three-pointer to extend Al Ahly's lead to seven points. After that, both teams would score tip in layups before Matthieu Missonier made two free throws to chip away at the lead Al Ahly had.

Al Ahly continued to find ways to disrupt the Dakar defense, leaving gaps in their own that Matthieu Missonier exploited and found himself at the free throw line a few times but could not quite capitalize on allthe opportunities. Ibrahima Sylla scored drained back-to-back three-pointers for Dakar to make it a one-point game. However, Al Ahly's armada could not be stopped as they went on a 13-4 run to end the half, giving them a 42-32 lead.

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The second half got off to a slower start than the first. Both teams struggled to capitalize on their opportunities. Soo Diabate was able to find his teammates in the right places and sometimes himself that he made two free throws and was able to cutthe lead down to eight. Dakar continued on this path, powered by Diabate, and cut it down to just four points.

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The two teams then traded baskets and left very little to separate them. Al Ahly pulled away in the second part of the third quarter but it was not enough to deter this Dakar side as Ater Majok scored a beautiful reverse layup. However, the Dakar side was caught a step behind on every turn and coud not stop fouling and that kept Al Ahly in the game. They were able to ride out this tide and closed the quarter off at 57-53.

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Ater Majok started the fourth quarter the same way he started the first, with a trip to the line. He missed the second one and prompted a 4-0 run by Al Ahly. However, they were able to bounce back and tie the game at 61 points apiece - a run with Majok at the center of it all. The two sides then exchanged blows and Dakar eventualy took the lead at 66-65. Al Ahly fought back with valiant efforts by Kevin Murphy to regain the lead at 69-66.

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The game had much more to offer and this battle continued after the timeout. However, Kevin Murphy was just unstoppable and continued to score in all fashions, at will. Axel Touane's layup brought the game to 72-70 in favor of Al Ahly with two minutes to go. However, Kevin Murphy continued to make free throws and extended Al Ahly's lead to four points, but Axel Toupane could not be denied his tip in layup to keep the game at 74-72 with 15 seconds left. Forced to foul, Dakar sent John jordan to the line where he scored a dagger to close out the game at 78-72 in favor of Al Ahly.

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[Photography and Imagery Courtesy of The BAL]