The Dragons Rhondorf have been struggling as of late as they had lost 2 of their last 3 games. They arrived in 2024 playing their first game on the road in Fellbach and were greeted with a loss as they got revenge on the Dragons after losing a tough battle in the Dragon Dome a day before Christmas. The Dragons Rhondorf came back home to the Dragon Dome for their first home game of 2024 and right away were greeted with a top game as they met the Basketball Lowen Erfurt who had an identical 11-3 record. The Lowen have been on an upward trend in the last years and last season gave top team EPG Baskets Koblenz a good run in the playoffs before losing and this season haven´t changed much with their roster getting only Paul Albrecht, but losing top player Guy Edy. Paul Albrecht was extra motivated to be back in his old stomping ground where he had played 3 seasons. Paul Albrecht had been a real fan favorite the last years and always had a smile on his face for the starry -eyed children after games. Paul Albrecht had had many incredible games in the Dragon Dome including a rare triple double against Lok Bernau 2 seasons ago and this time the ex el Capitano didn´t disappoint exploding for a 32/18 game, but his team couldn´t follow his lead as the Dragons Rhondorf tore apart the CATL Basketball Lowen 99-80. The Dragons played a consistent offensive game for 40 minutes and there was nothing that the Lowen could do, but watch the beautiful ball movement and 11 three´s and countless easy baskets inside. “Erfurt is a great team, but we had everyone on board something that doesn´t happen often. When everyone is on board, you can see our potential. Tyrese Blunt set the tone on defense and offense and we all followed his lead. We are continuing to improve on defense. Our offense isn´t an issue, because we know we can score, but we want to be able to lock down on defense”, stressed Dragosn Rhondorf guard Kelvin Omojola (183-G-1997, college: Northwest) who had his mother in attendance who made the trip to Germany from Las Vegas to watch him. It was one of those days where Erfurt just couldn´t execute the way they wanted to at both ends. They were already without 4 players, but it didn´t help their cause when starter Lorenz Schiller went down after 25 seconds. “Rhondorf executed very well on the offensive end. We couldn´t get control of the game because we had too many turnovers. We also didn´t get to the free throw line enough”, stressed CATL Basketball Lowen guard Tyseem Lyles.

Paul Albrecht at the FT line

Both teams found to their offensive game in the first quarter, but after 10 minutes the Dragons Rhondorf had the comfortable 8 point advantage. Young Lowen forward Tim Herzog who averaged 14,0ppg in the NBBL (U-19) last season got aggressive scoring twice as both teams enjoyed having the lead in the first few minutes. But the Dragons Rhondorf kept a better offensive rhythm as the quarter went on as Kelvin Omojola hit a trey and Texas native Avery Sullivan hit a 20 footer for the Dragons 14-6 lead. The Dragons set the tone on defense as their on ball pressure by the 3 guards of Blunt, Omojola and Buck was top class. But Erfurt kept fighting and got clutch buckets from Albrecht and Lyles to trail only 14-12. But whenever one team punched, the other retaliated as Rhondorf received a trey from ex RheinStar Antonio Pilipovic and trey by Tyrese Blunt for the 20-14 lead. Lyles kept getting looks from downtown and nailed another as Erfurt was only down 20-17. But the Dragons Rhondorf continued their offensive onslaught and closed out the first quarter with a 8-3 run to lead 28-20 after one quarter. In the run, the Dragons shared the ball well and got good support from many as 17 year old German Janne Muller nailed 3 free throws, ex Duesseldorf guard Matej Silic made a lay in and Avery Sullivan made a timely shot at the buzzer. “We began well at the start. The first quarter was sort of a shoot out. We found our rhythm well on offense and buckled down on defense”, stated Kelvin Omojola. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 60% from the field and 57% from outside and had 7 rebounds and 3 turnovers while CATL Baskets Lowen Erfurt shot 53% form the field and 67% from outside and had 9 rebounds and 7 turnovers.

Badu Buck with the drive

In the second quarter the Dragons Rhondorf shifted their game up a few gears and were able to lead in double figures and at the break led by 21 points holding the guests to only 12 points. Rhondorf raced out on a swift 9-0 run to lead 35-20. In the run the Dragons got 5 points from Pilipovic, a lay in by Omojola and from Blunt. Blunt was a defensive terror that set the tone with his aggressive on ball defense that gave the Lowen players nightmares. The Lowen finally got on the board at the 6,33 minute mark as Tim Herzog made a lay in. But Rhondorf´s offense just kept executing as Blunt hit another trey and ex Bamberg big Leon Bulic made a lay in for the 42-29 Dragons lead. Both teams showed their mini runs as ex Jena guard Jan Heber made a 20 footer and Paul Albrecht an old school hook shot which was matched with a trey by Bulic and lay in by Blunt as Rhondorf still had the big 47-28 advantage. Rhondorf was playing with higher intensity at both ends and it seemed like Erfurt was always a step too slow. Rhondorf had the big lead and needed self confidence to manage the lead the way they wanted to. Albrecht continued to terrorize Rhondorf with back to back hook shots as Rhondorf led only 47-32, but Rhondorf was simply too strong and too consistent as they closed out the second quarter with a 6-0 run. Rhondorf got to the free throw line twice and connected 4 times from Sullivan and Blunt and Sullivan made a tip in at the end. “Tyrese Blunt set the tone at both ends. His play was no surprise for me. I expect him to play like that. On offense we moved the ball really well and were really aggressive, but in no way in a selfish way”, expressed Kelvin Omojola. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 58% from the field and 57% from the three point line and had 18 rebounds and 7 turnovers while the CATL Basketball Lowen Erfurt shot 43% from the field and 25% from the three point line and had 18 rebounds and 13 turnovers.

Tyseem Lyles from outside

It might not be easy to comprehend, but the CATL Basketball Lowen actually won the second half 48-43, but the first big half allowed the Dragons Rhondorf to be able to compensate this. The guests caught the Dragons Rhondorf napping in the first few minutes of the third quarter as they cruised out on a lethal 8-0 run to trail only 56-40. In the run the guests got good support from Tyseem Lyles who added 6 points with 2 lay in´s and free throws while ex Itzehoe German Alieu Ceesay also made a lay in. Where was the high aggressiveness and pressure by the Dragons guards? It was absent as all three lay in´s were without defensive resistance. But a big strength of the Dragons Rhondorf is their ability to fight back from adversary and not just punch back, but offer extra punches. Rhondorf struck back with an annoying 12-2 run to lead 68-42 and have total control of the game again. In the run the Dragons got great support from Sullivan with 4 points, 2 three´s from Blunt and Buck and an incredible acrobatic circus shot from Omojola. Rhondorf did a fine job displaying their inside out game and found back to their aggressive pesky defense by the guards. The circus shot by Omojola was one to remember. “I thought I was fouled. Because I thought it was a foul, I just threw it up. It was a tough angle, but it just fell in. I don´t practice that shot”, smiled Kelvin Omojola. Paul Albrecht continued to do all he could as he hit a trey, but Rhondorf still led very comfortably 71-47. Both teams had 5 team fouls, so the last few minutes saw many free throws. Albrecht was on fire as he continued to be a one man wrecking crew connecting on 2 more three´s and added 5 free throws. “He is a big piece of our success. His stats speak for themselves”, said Tyseem Lyles. Muller scored inside and also made free throws to keep Rhondorf ahead 81-59 after 30 minutes. “We came out flat out of half-time. We have had this issue all season long. We have to clean it up before the playoffs. We came back with a run. We don´t need to be motivated by coach to do this. We have a lot of experience and top players. We hold ourselves accountable”, stressed Kelvin Omojola. “I saw hope at the start with our run. But our defense just couldn´t stay consistent. But that happened the whole game”, commented Tyseem Lyles.

Avery Sullivan at the FT line

The CATL Basketball Lowen Erfurt won the fourth quarter, but they couldn´t get over the hump on account of the big lead by the Dragons Rhondorf. Jan Heber had been kept quiet by Rhondorf through 3 quarters, but found his shooting touch from outside connecting twice from the parking lot early as Erfurt trailed only 83-66. Avery Sullivan bounced back with consecutive buckets and Badu Buck made a lay in as Rhondorf led 89-68. After another basket by Paul Albrecht, the Rhondorf offense continued to sizzle as Pilipovic added another trey and Blunt lay in for the 94-70 advantage. Heber continued to shine with a trey and left handed lay in as one could see that the feistiness and intensity of the Dragons had gone down. Lyles added a trey at the end and Leo Doering also scored for the last Erfurt points. The Dragons Rhondorf also missed reaching the 100 points as Leon Bulic had the last chance, but his euro step was seen as a travel ending the game. Kelvin Omojola had another double double as he continues to show his smooth playmaking skills. “I have great teammates. It´s easy to get assists. I have been more aggressive and when I see guys open, I will swing the ball to them “, stressed Kelvin Omojola. “The deficit was big, but we continued to fight. The problem was when we responded, they responded back. When that happens, then it´s hard to win”, commented Tyseem Lyles. “We had no real let down. We remained consistent. We knew that we had to keep pushing the lead”, stressed Kelvin Omojola. The Dragons Rhondorf had 6 guys in double figures and were led by Tyrese Blunt with 23 points. Avery Sullivan produced 18 points and 10 rebounds while Kelvin Omojola added 12 points and 10 assists while the CATL Basketball Lowen were led by Paul Albrecht with 32 points and 18 boards while Tyseem Lyles added 17 points. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 50% from the field and 42% from outside and had 37 rebounds and 19 turnovers while the CATL Basketball Lowen Erfurt shot 45% from the field and 47% from outside and had 40 rebounds and 25 turnovers.