Was this AS Douane's comeback moment?

AS Douanes guard Jean Jacques Boissy praised home fans for their tireless support during Friday’s must-win clash against Stade Malien.

The Senegalese champions prevailed 74-58, and improved to 1-2 in the Sahara Conference.

Stade Malien’s only lead (17-16) lasted no more than 45 seconds before Boissy and Co regained control of the game and went on to lead by as many as 20 points (66-46) in the fourth quarter.

Was this AS Dounanes’ comeback moment after a 0-2 start to the Sahara Conference?

“Kigali, we are coming,” shouted a jubilant Boissy who had a 4-for-9 shooting to finish with 13 points off the bench. Boissy added 4 rebounds and 4 assists.

AS Douanes never contemplated any other result. A third straight loss would have had their backs against the wall.

“It was great to see our fans supporting us. We didn’t expect them to come again after our first two losses. They were incredible. They didn’t give up on us,” Boissy observed.

According to Boissy, AS Douanes start to play the right way.

What exactly has improved for AS Douanes?

“We were aggressive defensively, and we are getting better as a team,” he said.

“It was a do-or-die situation for us. It was huge,” the Senegalese international played stressed.

Chris Crawford led AS Douanes with a game-high 21 points, and Bryan Osei added 14 points.

Stade Malien had an abysmal shooting from the free-throw (11-20), but turning the ball over 23 times made things even more difficult for the Bamako-based team.

And to make things even harder for Stade Malien, their bench was outscored 33-19.

BAL All-time leading scorer Terrell Stoglin was absent from AS Douane’s bench.

Eight AS Douanes players scored two points or more each.

Souleymane Berthe, the only Stade Malien player to score in double digits, finished with 17 points.

“We got this win, but our focus is already shifting to our next game.

AS Douanes return to action on Saturday, March 18 to take on Nigerian champions Kwara Falcons while Stade Malien will go up against Rwanda Energy Group.