Stoglin’s zero-point performance hurt AS Douanes (0-2)

On the day that Terrell Stoglin found no ways to score a single point his AS Douanes dropped to 0-2 in the Sahara Conference.

Not even the large number of tireless AS Douanes fans who flocked into the Dakar Arena were enough to push the home team to victory.

Rwanda Energy Group (REG) stepped on the floor knowing that limiting Stoglin’s scoring prowess would be vital, and it was.

Stoglin, the Basketball Africa League (BAL) All-time leading scorer, missed all his seven shots in the first three quarters, and didn’t attack the basket again.

He came back in the fourth quarter, but the best he could offer AS Douanes was one assist. Stoglin turned the ball over twice in 22:35 minutes.

There’s no memory of Stoglin playing below 30 minutes minutes in the BAL.

“This is what basketball is all about,” said REG center Pitchou Manga.

“We scouted his movements; we played aggressive defensively, and that’s how we won this game,” said the DR Congo international player.

AS Douanes scored the first two points, but that was the only time they led the game.

REG’s sense of urgency saw them take a 54-30 advantage – their biggest lead in the game – before winning 69-55.

Although AS Douanes out-rebounded REG 56-48, and had fewer turnovers (16-15) than the Rwandan champions, their poor long range hurt them.

With Stoglin struggling to score, it was seven-footer Khaman Maluach who converted AS Douane’s first three-pointer.

The Senegalese champions finished 4-for-28 from beyond the arc, and never found answers to REG’s aggressiveness on both ends of the floor.

Chris Crawford and Jean Jacques Boissy led AS Douanes with 15 and 14 points, respectively, but no other player scored in double digits.

Meanwhile, Dieudonne Ndizeye set the tone by making three of his five three-point attempts to finish with 13 points.

Jean Jacques Nshobozwabyosenummukiza led all REG players in scoring with 15 points and Cleveland Thomas Jr contributed 12.

Unlike AS Douanes, REG made it rain, making 11 of their 33 three-point shots.

With the win, REG improved to 3-0 while AS Douanes dropped to 0-2.

Maluach admitted that they took positives from the loss. “We still have three games to play. There are things that we need to improve, and I am sure we can do better.

“We can’t blame Stoglin for the loss. Of course, he is scorer, but bad nights happen to anyone.”

AS Malien will return to action on Friday, March 17 to face Stade Malien, who will go up againts REG the following day.