Qatar Sports Club collected seven straight points and blanked Al Shamal in the endgame to squeeze past Al Shamal, 79-73 in the Qatar Basketball League at the Al Rayyan Indoor Arena.
Qatar SC squandered a 13-point lead established early in the final quarter and fell behind even at 72-73 as the game entered its last two minutes but got their bearings just in time to salvage the win. Leslie La Mont was steady on all fronts all night and led the winners with 30 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Mezie Nwigwe had a double-double of 34 points and 11 rebounds.
Later in the night, Al Sadd raced to their sixth straight win via 79-44 rout of a struggling Al Ahli Club to tie idle Al Rayyan on top of the standings.
A blow-out from the start, the Emir Cup champions erected a 20-9 early lead before going 38-18, at half time.
Ahli put up a token stand in the third as they managed to cut the deficit at the close of the third, 52-36.
Al Sadd would however step on the gas as the last 10 minutes ticked away and soared to their biggest lead at the buzzer.
Michael Benjamin Southall dominated the game and lorded the shaded lane collecting 22 of his total 25 points from inside.
QML games continue tomorrow (Tuesday) with a double-header featuring defending champions and current league-leader Al Rayyan meeting Heir Apparent titlist Al Arabi in the curtain-raiser at 5:00 pm.
In the main game, Emir Cup winner Al Sadd will try to stretch their winning streak to 7 as they tangle with Al Gharafa in the main game.
Qatar Men’s League
Team Standings
Team W L
Al Rayyan 6 0
Al Sadd 6 0
Al Arabi 5 2
El Jaish 5 2
Al Gharafa 3 3
Qatar Club 1 4
Al Shamal 1 4
Al Ahli 0 6
Al Wakrah 0 6
