Mayen, Bright Stars fall in overtime

South Sudan has won two of their three 2025 FIBA Afro Basket qualifiers in Dakar across last weekend.

The Bright Stars, who had Adelaide 36ers power forward Lat Mayen on its roster, were stunned early Monday morning, going down 76-69 in over time to Congo to end Window 2.

Congo’s victory snapped a seven-game winning streak by the Bright Stars on the continent, South Sudan's last loss was in August 2022 in Monastir, when they fell to Senegal 69-66.

South Sudan started the three games in four days stretch with a solid 82-66 victory against Morocco last Friday.

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The Bright Stars made it two-from-two with a comprehensive 85-60 win against Mali on Saturday.

Saturday’s 25-point win the biggest for South Sudan since their 101-58 win over Congo in August, 2022.

Mayen did not see much court time over the three-game stretch, the Bright Stars now move to 2-1 in Group A of the qualifying tournament with three games remaining.

The Bright Stars will play the same three countries in the final phase of Window 2 during the next FIBA international break starting on February 21, 2025.