PRETORIA (South Africa) - Senegal outlasted Morocco 72-71 in a dramatic finish to the FIBA U18 AfroBasket 2024 Bronze Medal Game at the University of Pretoria on Saturday afternoon.
Code Mbengue's double-double (17 points and 15 rebounds) and Cheikh Biteye's 14 points and four steals earned Senegal a second tournament bronze medal.
Omar Karem's 23 points and Mohammed Bahmad's double-double (19 points and 13 rebounds) would not be enough to beat Senegal.
Highlight reel dunks from Mane and Sambe excited the crowd and gave Senegal a 17-16 lead with two minutes left in the first quarter. The West Africans scored nine from turnovers and five second-chance points, and their bench also contributed five points and closed out the quarter 20-19.
Three-pointers from each team - first Rayane Solhi scored for Morocco - then Benoit Ndione landed a triple for Senegal, setting the tone for another closely contested quarter.
Karem's five points in the quarter sent his tally to 12, while his teammate Bahmad had 10 points.
Senegal remained in the ascendancy, with Biteye's fastbreak dunk giving them a 37-33 lead with under a minute to play.
The arm wrestle would continue between the two teams in the third quarter.
With five minutes played in the third quarter, a Bahmad baseline jam tied the score 45-45. Morocco would take the lead through a Karem mid-range jumper.
A sloppy in-bounds pass at the Moroccan end saw Karem fumble the ball, leading to a Senegal bucket by Biteye and then regaining the lead 51-49. Kara's triple with 24 seconds remaining increased Senegal's lead to five.
The final quarter saw both teams exchange four buckets early on, but Mbengue, who scored all of Senegal's points in that time, gave them a 60-53 lead with his sixth point - a fast break dunk.
Bahmad's posted up on his defender, and with a step-back jumper and solitary free throw, he reduced the score to 63-58. Two minutes had gone and the six points (66-60) separated both teams, but Mane's free throws increased Senegal's lead to eight.
Two Karem's threes one off balance dramatically reduced the lead to one (72-71). After suspicion of a foul on Karem's second made three, a review by referees ruled it a clean contest, giving Senegal a huge relief as they took bronze.
Mane N'faba spoke about his relief at the end of the game. "I was having flashbacks of the (Semi-Final) game against Mali and some of the mistakes we made that cost us. So when things went our way, I was happy," said Mane.
FIBA