With the crunch-time of the Pro A regular season in full swing, the second place team Fraport Skyliners continue to grind away chasing top team Romerstrom Gladiators, but with the playoffs only around the corner, they want to secure second place and go into the post season fresh, motivated and prepared. They have been playing solid basketball as of late having won 5 of their last 6 games. Especially at home, they have been a rock having won 5 of their last 6 games as well. Their next opponent was no cake walk as they greeted medipolis Science City Jena who were resting in sixth place and in a battle with Hagen and Kirchheim for the fourth spot. They had been up and down recently having lost 2 of their 3 games including 2 bitter crunch-time games against Paderborn and Bremerhaven where they had lost by a combined score of only 7 points. They did win their last game against Nurnberg by 20 points and were extra motivated to keep their winning streak alive in Frankfurt. Jena had won the first contest in their living room by 11 points and ex Skyliner Rasheed Moore returned to Frankfurt where he had played 2 seasons. It was a game that brought that playoff feeling with low scoring and hard nosed defense and no team could truly get away from the other until overtime where Medipolis Jena displayed their ice cold 3 point attack that lifted them over the Fraport Skyliners 77-65. “This game had that playoff atmosphere. We knew going in that it would be a battle. Key for us was being able to stick together and fight for 45 minutes on the road”, stressed Mediplois Science City Jena forward Rasheed Moore. The Fraport Skyliners played solid defense for 40 minutes the way they know how, but offensively never found a real rhythm and it was simply one of those days where nothing fell. In overtime, their offense continued to sputter and their defensive pressure ran out of gas. “This was a playoff atmosphere and a real battle at both ends of the court. We played good defense for the most part, but offensively we struggled to finish on the rim and hit three pointers. They had a big front court which made it difficult for us”, stressed Fraport Skyliners forward Ife Ajayi.

Justin Onyejiaka at the FT line

On a rather mild early spring day only 2,750 fans found their way into the arena. Medipolis Science City Jena were without their freak of nature Amir Hinton and in the first minutes didn´t seem to have needed him as they rode out on a rapid 7-2 lead. The guests moved the ball well playing good inside out ball as Moore began with a left handed lay in which was followed by a beautiful spin and finger tip roll in by German Stephan Haukohl and ex G-League player Blake Francis (183-PG-1998, college: Richmond) nailed a trey. Frankfurt´s offense sputtered as they had problems moving the ball and getting efficient shots. Frankfurt kept chipping away and really had to work for their shots and then found some daylight tying the game at 8-8 with a turn around shot from ex Indiana State (NCAA) guard Cameron Henry and a lay in from ex Schwenningen forward Jacob Knauf. Frankfurt was able to battle back as they heightened their defensive intensity which reward them on offense. Knauf added another three pointer as Frankfurt rolled with a 7-0 run and 11-8 advantage. Both teams reached the free throw line and after 10 minutes the game was dead locked at 12-12. “It was a very low scoring game where both teams showed their good defensive play. The game was also more physical than usual”, stated Rasheed Moore. The Fraport Skyliners shot 36% from the field and 33% from outside and had 7 rebounds and 5 turnovers while Medipolis Science City Jena shot 25% from the field and 20% from outside and had 8 rebounds and 5 turnovers.

Blake Francis with the step back shot

The second quarter continued to be a real old fashioned battle with 2 teams playing hard defense and not giving away any simple gifts. There would be 6 lead changes and at the break the game was dead locked at 30-30. The Fraport Skyliners had the better start going on a 12-4 run to start to lead 22-16. Frankfurt did a good job getting to the free throw line and got an offensive rebound an put back by Ife Ajayi and lay in by ex Carleton great Aiden Warnholtz. At the end of the run, fans saw another incredible David Muenkat highlight play as he threw down an alley op dunk getting the perfect feed from Aiden Warnholtz. “That was a nice dunk. It came off a loose ball and then within 5 seconds came the dunk. It was an exciting moment”, stressed Trevian Bell. That dunk helped Frankfurt have the momentum a little while longer as Florida native Kevin McClain made free throws and German Jordan Samare connected for a three pointer to lead 28-21 with a few minutes to play. However Frankfurt couldn´t keep the momentum as they allowed a 9-2 run for the 30-30 score after 20 minutes. Sometimes in basketball all you need is a big play to get a team back on track and that is exactly what ex Richmond (NCAA) guard Blake Francis did making a trey and concerting on the 4 point play. German big man Robin Lodders added a tip and lay in to complete the run. “Francis always has moments like that. He is a phenomenal scorer. For him all it takes is to see one go in and then 2 or 3 will follow”, added Rasheed Moore. The Fraport Skyliners shot 32% from the field and 20% from the three point line and had 20 rebounds and 7 turnovers while Medipolis Science City Jena shot 33% from the field and 20% from the three point line and had 16 rebounds and 6 turnovers.

Jacob Knauf from outside

In the third quarter the game continued to be a real dog fight as there were 8 lead changes and Medipolis Science City Jena took control of the game late to have the 52-46 lead. Francis opened up the second half with a three pointer to give Jena the 33-30 lead. Once again Frankfurt was aided by 2 big defensive plays as Booker Coplin and David Muenkat served up blocks and they took the lead again with a Coplin three to lead 36-35. Jena went on a 5-0 run to lead 40-36 as Moore nailed free throws and Joshiko Saibou dropped a trey, but Frankfurt punched back with Cameron Henry free throws and the second sensational dunk of the game by David Munkat to dead lock the game 40-40. This time he went coast to coast and flew by his opponent Nils Schmitz to go for the 2 handed dunk. “I think that dunk was better than his first dunk. I think that having to go end to end is more difficult than doing an alley-oop dunk. I knew that as soon as he was by his man, it was over. That dunk didn´t surprise me, because he is so athletic”, explained Ife Ajayi. The ups and downs by Frankfurt continued as they were unable to profit further from the dunk as they gave up a 12-6 run to Jena to trail 52-46 after 30 minutes. In the run it was Blake Francis again who supplied the energy with 5 points while Robin Lodders also added 4 points. “It went back and forth. You kind of expected each team to have them. Key was not to allow the other team´s run to get to big. A big strength was packing the zone. We took the mis match opportunities and knew when to help and when not to”, commented Rasheed Moore. “The game continued to show 2 teams playing physical defense”, said Ife Ajayi. Medipolis Science City Jena shot 32% from the field and26% from the parking lot and had 28 rebounds and 9 turnovers while the Fraport Skyliners shit 33% from the field and 23% from the parking lot and had 31 rebounds and 9 turnovers.

Alex Herrera at the FT line

In the fourth quarter it looked like Medipolis Science City Jena would take the win, but once again the Fraport Skyliners exhibited their come back skills in crunch-time at home forcing the game to overtime. Both teams had difficulty executing in the first minutes as Frankfurt got a Jordan Samare dunk on their fifth possession while Jena got a Moore tip in at the 6,32 minute mark to lead 54-48. Frankfurt´s offense wasn´t spot on as their ball movement was average at best and when they attacked, they literally couldn´t hit the ocean missing shots they usually made in their sleep. Cameron Henry then finally drilled home an open three pointer to trail 54-51. Frankfurt continued missing shot after shot and time was running out as Jena led 57-52. Somehow Frankfurt stuck together and Jacob Knauf hit a clutch three pointer to trail 57-55. Jena had a few bad minutes as they had turnovers allowing Frankfurt added opportunities. German Lorenz Brenneke added a lay in to tie the game at 57-57 with 1,39 to play. Saibou countered with a lay in with 1.30 only to see Aiden Warnholtz tie the game at 59-59. Coplin gave Frankfurt the 61-59 lead with under a minute to play only to see Blake Francis nail a clutch three for the 62-61 advantage. After a Henry turnover, the game seemed over, but Rasheed Moore missed a free throw and Jena led only 63-61. Jacob Knauf hit big free throws to send the game into overtime 63-63. “We put our foot down and got stops and made tough shots. The group that was in there gave us a good push and Cam Henry took over”, stated Ife Ajayi. “We expected them to make big shots. We stuck together and Francis made a big shot as well. We are a veteran team and stayed grounded. It was a team effort”, said Rasheed Moore. In the overtime period, it wasn´t that continued back and forth tug of war, but moreover just Medipolis Science City Jena that went to work and rolled over the Fraport Skyliners to take the 5,00 minute extra time 14-2 and win 77-65. It went bang, bang, bang on the first 3 Jena possessions as Moore began with a three pointer that was followed with back to back three´s by Saibou. Henry did stop the run with a big dunk, but most of the damage had been done. Saibou added another lay in and Moore free throws sealed the season sweep for Medipolis Science City Jena. “We hit 3 open three´s off good ball movement. You need to have the confidence to make those shots. I got us started and Saibou did the rest”, smiled Rasheed Moore. “Those 3 three´s were lethal blows to us. They were very poised and got us under screens and hit the shots. Kudos to them for staying focused and making tough shots”, stated Ife Ajayi. Medipolis Science City Jena was led by Blake Francis with 21 points while Joshiko Saibou added 20 points while the Fraport Skyliners were led by Cameron Henry with 15 points and Jacob Knauf had 10 points. Medipolis Science City Jena shot 33% from the field and 33% from outside and had 41 rebounds and 14 turnovers while the Fraport Skyliners shot 31% from the field and 24% from outside and had 45 rebounds and 18 turnovers.