ASVEL escapes with narrow victory against depleted AS Monaco squad
Shaquille Harrison stood out in ASVEL’s sluggish offense.
Photo credit: Miko Missana
ASVEL made things unnecessarily difficult for themselves at Gaston-Médecin. Facing a heavily depleted Monaco team deprived of Mike James from early in the second quarter, ASVEL managed to secure a narrow victory in the Principality (83-87). Shaquille Harrison was the only player to truly shine in the Villeurbanne attack, finishing the game with 23 points, 3 assists and an efficiency rating of 23.
A chaotic encounter against Monaco’s young guns
Most importantly, Lyon-Villeurbanne was shaken in a bewildering encounter by a Monaco formation with a notably young appearance. Trailing at halftime (40-34) after the first 20 minutes were described as « shameful » by Edwin Jackson on DAZN, the Rhône-Alpes team eventually secured the essential result through a mixture of nervousness and jitters.
Without Élie Okobo, Daniel Theis and Juhann Begarin, Monaco likely already had their minds on the upcoming week, with a EuroLeague match to play at Panathinaikos on Tuesday and a French Cup final on Saturday. This Sunday, the outcome seemed quickly decided. Even more so when Mike James left his teammates, ejected after 11 minutes on court following two technical fouls – to which he reacted on X during the match by writing « Cheating again… It’s disgusting. »
Yet the Roca Team and their 5 remaining professionals (including 20-year-old Yssam Moungalla, who signed professionally a month ago and played 39 minutes) managed to make ASVEL and their 10 key players – 9 after Thomas Heurtel‘s injury exit in the third quarter – doubt until the very end.
Harrison leads ASVEL through the storm
Maxim Klitschko (8 points) battled well in the paint, Matthew Strazel launched several long-range bombs (3/13 on 3-points) and Alpha Diallo, with unmatched bravery, caused endless cold sweats for the opposing defense (26 points including 7 in the final minute).
🤯 | OHHHH LE SHOOT D'ALPHA DIALLO ! L'@ASMonaco_Basket ne lâche rien !
Suivez la rencontre en direct sur DAZN : https://t.co/zKyIAY0FgO 📲 pic.twitter.com/jVpZQc5EU6
— DAZN France (@DAZN_FR) April 19, 2026
Fortunately for ASVEL, their playmaker Shaquille Harrison remained serious. « It was a very strange game, but that’s basketball, you never know what can happen, we move on to the next one. » Accurate from long range, under the basket, and generous with spectacular plays including some explosive dunks (19th, 37th minute), the Rhône-Alpes guard first sparked the revolt.
Sometimes helped by the athletic Paul Eboua, the combo-guard then allowed Lyon-Villeurbanne to maintain some semblance of control until money-time, where everything could have suddenly shifted. The scenario became increasingly disjointed with repeated fouls and free throws without rebounders – which even confused the referees. No matter for the Villeurbanne players, who will undoubtedly be happy to count this victory in the fight for the top 4 and move on to other things.
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