After 2 days of filling their bellies with delicious holiday food and opening wonderful presents, it was time for the EPG Baskets Koblenz to get back on the grind in the Pro A and finally get back on the winning road. The last month has been a tough struggle for Koblenz as they had lost 5 of 6 games and observed how they continued to climb down the standings to the 12th position at 5-8. A strength the last years was their stable defense, but this season, it has let them down game after game after game. The club desperately needed a win again, but with the tight and competitive Pro A league, every game is a dog fight and it wouldn´t get any easier with the Bozic Estriche Knights Kirchheim. They have been playing great basketball as of late having won 5 of their last 6 games. They have really had nerves of steel in the last weeks winning genuine nail bitters against PS Karlsruhe and Munster with only a combined points total of 5. On a mild winter evening a few days before the new year the EPG Baskets Koblenz had a good start to the game and had their defensive intensity high off the bat which helped them control the game for 40 minutes even if they had their ups and downs on offense to win 73-57. “Key tonight was definitely having a better start then in recent games. Our switching on ball screens helped us a lot. That mixed up their offense and helped us get easier stops”, said ex Kansas State (NCAA) guard David Sloan (183-PG-1999, college: ETSU). The Bozic Estriche Knights Kirchheim had problems all night finding an offensive rhythm and just couldn´t match the intensity of Koblenz. “Koblenz had a good game plan and played aggressive defense and switched well. We had problems executing our offense and we had poor shooting percentages. You have to be bale to hit shots on the road to be in games”, stressed Kirchheim head coach Igor Perovic.

Maurice Pluskota at the FT line

1,515 people were in attendance in the CGM arena and saw a great start by the EPG Baskets Koblenz as they led 6-0 and produced 7 stops on defense. In the run, Koblenz received good work from their big men Germans Moses Poelking and Maurice Pluskota who scored and got to the free throw line while David Sloan made a lay in. “Sloan is quicker than Alani Moore”, warned EPG Baskets Koblenz CEO Thomas Klein. Koblenz did a fine job attacking the paint early and using the mis matches while on defense they were aggressive and packed the paint area letting no easy drives get through. Kirchheim finally got their first field goal at the 5,26 minute mark as ex Ulm center Antonio Dorn got an offensive rebound and put back. Koblenz continued to play aggressive at both ends getting stops and also attacking the paint area as Robert Hall scored twice for the 13-4 advantage. “He will hit every three pointer when he gets on a streak, but moreover he is a great role player that plays for the team”, said Thomas Klein. Koblenz also did a great job not letting sniper Michael Flowers get any good looks as he remained scoreless in the first quarter. Kirchheim did get some baskets at the end from ex Wolfenbuettel guard Demetrius Ward and ex Belmont (NCAA) center Nick Muszyinski with a classic old school hook shot, but Koblenz had the 16-10 advantage. “We tried to push the ball whenever we could. They only had a 8 man rotation so we kept the tempo high. We defended very well and tried to force as many contested shots and make everything as difficult as possible for their offense”, added Donald Sloan.

Michael Flowers to the hole

The EPG Baskets continued to control the game in the second quarter and led by 10 points at the break. The EPG Baskets Koblenz had another super defensive start getting 5 stops, but on offense struggled executing only twice as Sloan connected on free throws and ex Rhondorf center Gabriel de Olveira connected on a pretty old school hook shot for the 21-10 advantage. Kirchheim then found some daylight getting 6 unanswered points as Michael Flowers made 3 free throws and Muszynski hit a trey to only trail 21-16. The Koblenz offense was struggling to move the ball, but here and there, veterans like Marvin Heckel and Maurice Pluskota used their experience to score upping the Koblenz lead again to 25-16. Flowers finally made his first field goal of the contest at the 4,15 mark of the second quarter to keep Kirchheim close at 25-19. Both teams continued to show that basketball is a game of runs as Koblenz went on a 6-0 run getting vital contribution from Caleb Huffman who played at Central Michigan State (NCAA) with 5 points to give Koblenz the 31-19 advantage. Huffman showed that he is more than just a shooter. “Caleb is also a very quick transition player”, stated Thomas Klein. Both teams had found their offensive rhythm as 4 straight three´s were shot as Koblenz was lifted by German Leon Friderici and ex Wurzburg forward Rytis Pipiris and Kirchheim got baskets from ex Jena forward Jonas NIedermanner and Flowers, but Koblenz still led 37-27 at half-time. “Flowers is a very good shooter off the bounce. We stayed up on him. Key for us was for him not getting going early”, stated David Sloan.

Maurice Pluskota to the rim

The game of runs continued as both teams had one in the third quarter, but after 30 minutes the EPG Baskets Koblenz still had the comfortable upper-hand with a 9 point lead. Kirchheim began on fire going on a lethal 9-0 run to trail Koblenz only by 1 point. Musyzinski continued to show his inside out qualities hitting a trey and making free throws while athletic guard Michela Miller who played at North Texas (NCAA) was aggressive attacking the hole twice and scoring. Koblenz had lost total offensive rhythm and on defense had stepped off the gas pedal and refrained from their physicality. Koblenz accepted the Kirchheim blow, but quickly retaliated and served a blow back with a massive 10-0 run getting 2 clutch three´s from David Sloan, a lay in by Marvin Heckel and a lay in by Moses Poelking for the 47-36 advantage. The EPG Baskets Koblenzu demonstrated how lethal their offense can be and how versatile the scoring can be when they share the ball well and allow everyone a piece of the pie. Kirchheim had problems slowing down the offensive machine as well as stopping guys 1-1. Miller made a lay in and Pipiris hit a trey late for insurance as Koblenz led 50-41 after 3 quarters. “We knew that they would get a run. Basketball is a game of runs and we remained poised. Marvin Heckel and I kept everyone together”, expressed David Sloan. “The game had a high tempo. Koblenz is full of very good players. You need to be able to have 2-3 good possessions and quickly you can be up again which Koblenz showed after our run. That can change a game. They had a larger momentum”, commented Igor Perovic.

Nick Muszynski at the FT line

In the fourth quarter the EPG Baskets Koblenz needed some time, but midway through the quarter got massive support by Maurice Pluskota which helped the team decide the game. Poelking began the fourth quarter with an alley-oop play, but Kirchheim countered with superb guard play as Flowers nailed a jumper and Demetrius Ward did a superb job picking his spots and hitting a jumper as Koblenz led 52-45. Then came the turning point of the game as German Maurice Pluskota who has extensive Pro A experience went on a scoring binge scoring 7 unanswered points with a lay in, free throws and a three pointer for the 59-45 advantage. Ex BBL player Dominique Johnson added a three pointer to keep the momentum high and 62-45 lead. “Mo was incredible making a three and getting rebounds”, said Thomas Klein. “Pluskota was very dominant in the paint. He was very good in the isolation against Flowers. He was their main target at both ends. He was super important for the win”, stressed Igor Perovic. Kirchheim had a second wind and stopped the Koblenz run with 5 unanswered points with a trey by Ward and lay in by Flowers to trail only 62-50. But the EPG Baskets Koblenz simply had to many weapons and also ended the game with one last run of 9-2 to seal the fate of Kirchheim. In the run it was the superb guard duo of Heckel and Sloan that did all the damage. Sloan added 5 points and Heckel had 2 lay in´s. Pluskota did a great job on the offensive glass giving us many second possessions. I just tried to stick with what I know. I just stayed myself and didn´t try to do too much. I just did what I could within the team”, warned David Sloan. The EPG Baskets Koblenz were led by David Sloan with 17 points while Maurice Pluskota added 11 points and 12 boards while Kirchheim was led by Michael Flowers with 16 points and Demetrius Ward added 11 points. The EPG Baskets Koblenz shot 41% from the field and 43% from outside and had 45 rebounds and 13 turnovers while Kirchheim shot 31% from the field and 20% from outside and had 36 rebounds and 13 turnovers.