RABAT, Morocco -- Stade Malien were eliminated from the Basketball Africa League (BAL) on Saturday, suffering their fifth straight Kalahari Conference defeat as they went down 77-67 against hosts FUS Rabat at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sporting Complex.
Stade Malien's Mahamane Coulibaly was the game's top scorer with 26 points, but FUS used depth to their advantage in the victory, with American John Jordan shining early on for the hosts.
FUS are now certain to finish third in the Kalahari Conference with one game left to play, meaning that whether or not they progress to June's playoffs in Pretoria will depend on the outcomes of the other two conferences.
The two best third-placed teams across the Kalahari, Sahara (April 26 - May 4 in Dakar) and Nile (May 17-25 in Kigali) conferences will progress to the playoffs along with the top two from each conference.
Earlier on Saturday, Egypt's Al Ittihad wrapped up top spot in the Kalahari Conference with a 94-77 win over Rivers Hoopers, who will progress in second place.
FUS came out firing in the opening minutes of the first quarter, with Abdelhakim Zouita leading the charge. Stade Malien, perhaps realising they were on the brink, fought back - particularly Coulibaly. However, FUS held an 18-15 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Coulibaly kept Stade in the game in the second quarter, but FUS were more coherent as a team and took advantage of defensive lapses to lead 40-31 at half-time.
Jordan took on much of the scoring duties early in the third quarter for the hosts. Stade Malien stayed in the game and with around two minutes left, there were big moments for them as Mohamed Doumbya made a huge block on Jordan before Coulibaly and Doumbya quickly scored four points at the other end. Rabat's lead had whittled down to 50-48.
After a timeout, Nisre Zouzoua did what he does best, sinking a clutch three. Mouhamadou Diagne and Zouita then made big blocks on Mamadou Doucoure before Diagne raced up the other end for two more crucial points for FUS. Heading into the final quarter, FUS were 57-48 up and firmly in control again.
FUS carried their momentum into the fourth quarter and were soon almost beyond reach at 65-53.
Said El Bouzidi's men could afford to be more audacious in the last few minutes and Jordan produced two acrobatic dunks which drew probably the biggest cheers of the night. He finished as the home team's top scorer with 18 points.
FUS will face Al Ittihad on Sunday in a fixture that could help them improve their chances of a strong ranking against other third-placed teams. Meanwhile, Stade Malien will play Rivers Hoopers in a fixture with only pride on the line. However, Boubacar Kanouté's men will certainly want to avoid losing all six of their games.
"I don't want to credit to [lack of preparation] because I think that everybody in this tournament has gotten new guys within a week-and-a-half [or] two-week span due to how the BAL is structured and people coming from different leagues," Stade Malien's Cartier Diarra said.
"I think that it's just us finding the balance. We have high highs. We have shown that we can score 29 points in a quarter and cut down a lead from any of the best teams and then we don't stick with that intensity.
"I don't know why we don't but that's something we definitely need to continue to work on. If we ever get a chance to come back to the BAL as the same unit, we should be a lot better."