With March having popped up, the Pro B is in the stretch run of the regular season as teams jockey for the best position possible in the playoff places. After a 2 week break due to the Fiba break, the Dragons Rhondorf came back home into their living room sporting a 16-4 record and were in first place. They had been playing good basketball in the last weeks having won 5 of their last 6 games and could have had an even better record hadn´t they had a total slip up against Orange Academy in their last home game. They had no simple task with Bavarian team BBC Coburg arrived in Rhondorf with a potent 12-7 record and were playing spirited and super basketball having a 3 game winning streak and had won 6 of their last 7 games. The Bavarian club wanted revenge after the 104-100 shoot out loss at home, but didn´t get it as they lost another close shoot out 96-92. It was a tale of 2 halves for Rhondorf as they had less energy in the first half, but came out reborn in the second half and took control of the game and never looked back. “We didn´t defend well in the first half, but played better in the second half and just fought until the end and wanted it more. Gille and Sullivan were a big help on the offensive rebounds”, stressed Dragons Rhondorf guard Tyreese Blunt (191-PG-2002). BBC Coburg as usual demonstrated that they could score very well, but couldn´t slow down the lethal offensive arsenal of the Dragons as their defense fizzled. “It is really frustrating that we lost another shoot out again by 4 points. We know that we can score, but we have to defend better. The 5-6 minutes in the third quarter where we couldn´t score really hurt us. We had no ball movement”, stressed BBC Coburg guard Sven Lorber. The Dragons had special performances by 3 players as they were sparked by guard Tyreese Blunt who registered only the fifth Dragons triple double in the Dragon Dome in the last 7 seasons as Kameron Taylor did it twice as well as Curtis Hollis and Paul Albrecht with a 14/10/10 game while the dynamic big man duo of Avery Sullivan and Ferenc Gille combined for 41 points and 26 points. The team added 24 offensive rebounds. “They played such a big role tonight. They were huge on the boards and are real leaders. When one guy doesn´t get the rebound then the other one does”, smiled Tyreese Blunt. “If one misses the rebound then the other one gets it. We just didn´t have the height or physicality to keep up with them for 40 minutes”, added Sven Lorber.

Olamide Pederson at the FT line

The first quarter was an offensive back and forth tug of war that ended 24-24 after 10 minutes. Texas native Avery Sullivan got the Dragons Rhondorf on the scoreboard first with a 15 footer, but after that the Coburg zone stifled them as the Dragons were stopped 4 times and Coburg scored 6 unanswered points to lead 6-2. In the run the guests got a dunk by Danish big man Olamide Pederson, free throws by Lorber and a lay in by ex Ibam guard Gabriel Kuku. Rhondorf then got into a better offensive flow getting 15 footer by Las Vegas native Kelvin Omojola and Gille lay in, but Coburg still kept the lead as they continued to feed Pederson who scored. Coburg was playing a solid zone and playing nice inside out basketball and having good shot selection. Both teams then found their range from outside as Utah native Kolton Mortensen hit 2 three´s while Blunt and Omojola also hit from the parking lot as the game was deadlocked at 14-14. BBC Coburg continued to get great input from Mortensen as he added 5 points to give his team the 22-18 lead. But Rhondorf didn´t let that burst of energy rattle them as they closed out the first quarter with a 6-2 run, In the run, Rhondorf got 4 points from Avery Sullivan who was showing his beast qualities in the zone and transition points from young German Janne Muller to end the first quarter. “We were prepared for the zone, but just didn´t execute the way we wanted to. Kelvin Omojola carried us and it´s just great to be his teammate”, stated Tyreese Blunt. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 53% from the field and 38% from outside and had 12 rebounds and 3 turnovers while BBC Coburg shot 50% from the field and 40% from outside and had 9 rebounds and 2 turnovers.

Ference Gille at teh FT line

In the second quarter BBC Coburg were able to get away from the Dragons Rhondorf with a run and have the 6 point advantage at the break. BBC Coburg began well with a catch and pop shot by Austrian Nico Hollerl and lay in by 18 year old Lithuanian forward Danas Kazakevicius for the 29-26 lead. But Mr tripe double Tyreese Blunt came to life and gave this lightening energy with 6 points with a massive left handed dunk, free throws and offensive rebound and put back for the 32-29 advantage. His overall energy propelled him to a rare triple double. “That was my first in the Pro B. It was cool, to achieve this, but I couldn´t have done it without my teammates who made shots”, expressed Tyreese Blunt. It looked like this could be the turning point of the game, but it was wasn´t as BBC Coburg punched back with an annoying 15-4 run to lead 44-36. In the run the Bavarian side received 5 points from Hollerel with a trey and pretty alley oop dunk, 4 points from Kuku, a lay in by Kazakevicius and three pointer by Lorber. BBC Coburg stepped up their defense and good defense led to offense as they got easy transition baskets. They also opened up their trick basket with the alley-oop. The Dragons Rhondorf lost total focus during the run and had problems with execution against their zone. Down the stretch Rhondorf got some needed energy from German Antonio Pilipovic with 4 points, but they couldn´t get over the hump. BBC Coburg got valuable energy from the bench from Kazekevicius who supplied 6 points as he was always a presence in the zone and had that special knack to get easy baskets. BBC Coburg kept the 50-44 advantage after 20 minutes. “We were very sloppy in this quarter. We gave up too many easy baskets and didn´t hustle at all”, commented Tyreese Blunt. BBC Coburg shot 515 from the field and 50% from the three point line and had 20 rebounds and 4 turnovers while the Dragons Rhondorf shot 40% from the field and 25% from the three point line and had 28 rebounds and 5 turnovers.

Tyreese Blunt from outside

In the third quarter the Dragons Rhondorf made their move and grabbed the lead back and would never look back even if BBC Coburg never backed down, but fought until the end. The Dragons Rhondorf came out of half-time refocused and upped their intensity and cruised out on a lethal 17-6 run to regain the lead 61-54. The dynamic duo of Gille and Sullivan led the charge with 12 points as Gille added 8 and Sullivan 4 points. 3 of the 6 buckets were on offensive rebounds and put backs as BBC Coburg had no answer for them in the zone. Omojola also added a three pointer and Pilipovic scored inside. Gille who didn´t begin to play basketball until he was 15 years old and has 119 Pro A games experience played with so much energy that nothing could slow him down. BBC Coburg did find some resistance stopping the run and closing the gap to 63-61 as they got transition baskets from Lorber and Kuku and a trey by Mortensen. But the Dragons Rhondorf kept the lead in the last minute as Sullivan was in monster mode scoring 3 times with a 15 footer, put back and lay in. Lorber added a three pointer and Kazekevicius a lay in, but Rhondorf had the slim 69-66 lead. “We came out with high energy and intensity and that run to start decided the game for us”, stressed Tyreese Blunt. “They moved the ball well and our zone didn´t work. They were able to score inside and we didn´t they got the defensive rebound”, stated Sven Lorber. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 40% from the field and 22% from the parking lot and had 44 rebounds and 5 turnovers while BBC Coburg shot 48% from the field and 44% from the parking lot and had 30 rebounds and 9 turnovers.

Gabriel Kuku with the lay in

In the fourth quarter the Dragons Rhondorf were able to play with a high intensity and manage their lead well, while always having to resist the comeback attempt by BBC Coburg. The Dragons Rhondorf took their momentum from the third quarter into the fourth reeling off 3 baskets by Avery Sullivan who was in his own little zone as he drained anything he got in the mid distance area and close to the rim while 2018 NBBL champion Badu Buck hit a trey for the 78-71 lead. BBC Coburg had their own special work horse with Kazakevicius who scored twice, but BBC Coburg just couldn´t get over the hump, because besides the continued dominance of Sullivan and Gille who scored also had other weapons as Muller also scored as Rhondorf led 84-77. But BBC Coburg just didn´t lay down, but just fought led by their heart and soul Sven Lorber who nailed 2 clutch three´s twice to keep his team close at 84-80 and 88-87, but time was running down, but Rhondorf wasn´t in the clear yet. Rhondorf got key baskets from Gille and Omojola to lead 92-87, but BBC Coburg kept remaining at their back door getting a lay in by Kazakevicius and a big trey by ex Paderborn guard Adrian Petkovic to trail 94-92 with 7,8 seconds to play. But Antonio Pilipovic closed out the game with free throws. “We wanted it more at the end. We gave all we had. Sullivan and Gille carried us the whole game”, warned Tyreese Blunt. “We scored well and stayed with them, but we just couldn´t get stops”, said Sven Lorber. The Dragons Rhondorf had 6 guys score in double figures led by Avera Sullivan with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Ference Gille added 17 points and 14 boards while Tyreese Blunt had 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists while Kelvin Omojola added 12 points while BBC Coburg was led by Danas Kazekevicius with 25 points while Sven Lorber added 21 points. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 42% from the field and 22% from outside and had 56 rebounds (24 offensive rebounds) and 10 turnovers while BBC Coburg shot 48% from the field and 37% from outside and had 39 rebounds and 12 turnovers.