The up and down play of the 8-8 Dragons Rhondorf continues. The good news was that they were at home again in their own living room. But this season that unfortunately doesn´t mean anything when your 3-4 at home. The team is fighting for the playoffs and desperately needs to go on a run. They are only 4-4 since December ist and there doesn´t seem to be any rapid development. Winning doesn´t come easy anymore and it didn´t get any easier with the 10-6 Fellbach Flashers who continue to sparkle in the Pro B since arriving last season. They are a team with veterans and top bigs with Daniel Mayr and Brian Butler and a hungry and talented American with Malik Whitaker (198-G-2000, college: Fort Lewis, agency: Starting 5) The Dragons had some confidence going into the game remembering beating Fellbach on the road 78-75, but that game was the first of the season and since then the guests had improved. On a mild Saturday evening in Bad Honnef, fans in the Dragon Dome witnessed the debut of New head coach Marko Zarovic who had replaced Stephan Doehrn only few days earlier. Would a change in the team´s play occur? It definitely didn´t show at the start, but throughout the game, the Dragons Rhondorf heightened their game every quarter until the end, but they never got over the hump despite fighting hard for 40 minutes. “We got better every quarter, but when you dig such a big hole,it is just really difficult to come back especially against a good team like Fellbach. We played with so much energy in the last 3 quarters that it was contagious for our offense”, stressed Dragons Rhondorf guard Kelvin Omojola. Offensively Fellbach had their ups and downs, but defensively they played very well except for the third quarter where they allowed 32 points. The Flashers continue to play great basketball despite not having Zaire Thompson and Mickey De Souza than more than a month. “We did a good job sticking to the game plan for 40 minutes. We played great defense and were disciplined. Despite being banged up, we had others step up”, stressed Fellbach Flasher Malik Whitaker

Brian Butler at the FT line

In the first quarter the game was at eye level for the first minutes, but The Fellbach Flashers found to their game then going on a 26-7 run to lead by 21 points after 10 minutes. It was no secret that it would be a massive mismatch having 218cm giant Daniel Mayr battling against the undersized Dragons team. In the first few minutes, Mayr who played 1 Euroleague game with FC Bayern Munich scored 6 points and dominated the paint area. The Dragons Rhondorf also tried to go inside getting a basket from Ohio native Tim Smith Jr and free throws by German Janne Muller, but Fellbach led 10-6. Fellbach then really found their game going on a 13-2 run to lead 23-8. Brian Butler led the charge with 5 points like Mayr dominating the paint area with his quick moves while the team also got great support from their role player Jeremy Kolev who scored 4 points and Nikola Jekov also scored. “Jeremy has been big for us since the new year. We always knew he could play. His hard work has paid off as he has become a starter. He makes big plays for us”, warned Malik Whitaker Fellbach was playing with great intensity at both ends, had a stifling zone on display, got transition baskets and dominated the boards. The Dragons Rhondorf couldn´t hit the ocean and couldn´t get the 50/50 balls. Young German Kenan Reinhardt made a rare three pointer and Kelvin Omojola a lay in, but all in all their offense wasn´t moving the ball well and were forced to tough shots as Fellbach were everywhere on defense. On offense, they got 5 points from ex JUCO player Malik Whitaker and Lithuanian guard Tauras Ulevicius nailed a three pointer as Fellbach led 36-15 after 10 minutes. Fellbach shot 72% from the 2 point area and 25% from outside and had 17 rebounds and 3 turnovers while the Dragons Rhondorf shot 33% from the 2 point area and 14% from outside and had 7 rebounds and 6 turnovers. “We weren´t ready to play. We knew they had size, but they still punished under the glass. They also had a good zone which we had prepared for”, said Kelvin Omojola.

Marco Rahn at the FT line

The Dragons Rhondorf upped their play in the second quarter especially defensively as they allowed only 15 points, but they couldn´t make up much of the deficit and still trailed by 17 points at the break. The Dragons Rhondorf woke up going on a 10-5 run to cut the Flashers lead down to 41-25. In the run, their mind set was more positive than the first quarter and was more aggressive at both ends. That led to an offensive rebound and put back by Danas Kazakevicius and offensive rebound and hook shot by ex Bayreuth center Marco Rahn while Marco Rosic hit a clutch trey. The Dragons were reborn on the boards as they had the 9-2 rebound edge in that phase. Fellbach didn´t have the easy shots anymore as they had more contested shots. But Fellbach fought back and moved the ball better and got 2 three´s from Texas native Malik Whitaker and a left handed hook shot by ex Schwelm center Daniel Mayr as Fellbach extended their lead to 50-28. The Dragons remained aggressive getting to the free throw line as Smith, Kazakevicius and Reinhart scored, but they still had a long trek to the peak as they trailed 51-34 after 20 minutes. “We were flying on defense. We were helping each other, had good communication and were simply all on the same page. Our defense was huge and kept us in the game”, stated Kelvin Omojola.The Fellbach Flashers shot 61% from the 2 point area and 33% from the three point line and had 23 rebounds and 8 turnovers and the Dragons Rhondorf shot 32% from the 2 point area and 11% from the three point line and 26 rebounds and 9 turnovers.

Daniel Mayr in the pain area

In the third quarter the surge of the Dragons Rhondorf continued as they exploded for 32 points and all of a sudden trailed only by 10 points after 10 minutes. The Dragons Rhondorf are a strong offensive team and only time will tell when they will break out and they finally did going on a 16-9 run to trail 63-50. The Dragons finally let it rain three´s as Omojola connected twice as did Antonio Pilipovic and Marco Rahn. Rhondorf´s offense was clicking, but here and there still sloppy getting unneeded turnovers while on defense continued to be all over the court making it difficult for Fellbach to execute. But Fellbach always had an answer. Once they faced adversary, they came back with a 8-2 run to extend their lead to 71-52 as Ulevicius and Whitaker connected for three pointers. “Whitaker is a great player. He is so smooth and polished. He made us pay with his three pointer. It was pick your poison”, stated Kelvin Omojola. The only bright spot in the run for the Dragons was a nifty behind the back pass from Pilipovic to Smith Jr for the easy lay in. “We know that Antonio can pass like that. In practice he is always calling the Doncic pass. He is a great passer”, commented Kelvin Omojola. But Rhondorf stayed tough and on the door step of Fellbach as Janne Muller hit a trey and ex Schwenningen guard Alexander Lagerman for a lay in as the Dragons trailed 73-60. Despite a trey by Nik Schlipf, the Dragons continued to execute getting lay in´s by Smith Jr and Lagerman and Fellbach led 76-66 after 30 minutes. “We knew that they were a good team and strong at home. We also knew they would go on a run. They couldn´t stay cold that long. We never got down”, stated Malik Whitaker “We continued to bring energy and our three finally fell. We were getting stops and our good defense led to our offense”, added Kelvin Omojola. The Fellbach Flashers shot 61% from the 2 point area and 41% from the parking lot and had 28 rebounds and 12 turnovers while the Dragons Rhondorf shot 43% from the field and 29% from the parking lot and 31 rebounds and 13 turnovers.

Alexander Lagerman with the lay in

Defensively the Dragons Rhondorf saved their best for last allowing only 11 points, but still couldn´t get over the hump never trailing by less than 5 points as they mustered only 16 points in the last quarter. The Dragons came out with fire going on a 6-2 run to trail Fellbach only 78-72 as Muller and Rahn made lay in´s and Reinhart a floater. However Fellbach made clutch baskets to keep punching back going on a 4-0 run as Jekov made a lay in and Butler a tip in to lead 82-72. Then it was time for the Dragons to punch back as they made key stops and went on a 5-0 run to trail only 82-77 as Mueller made a lay in and Omojola a trey. Mayr and Kazakevicius then traded baskets as Fellbach led 84-79 with 1,23 to play. The Dragons Rhondorf had their opportunities. Brian Butler missed 2 free throws, but Muller came back and missed. Tim Smith Jr then made a lay in with 19 seconds to play as Fellbach still led 85-81. Then Rhondorf forced a turnover to get the ball back with 18,2 seconds, but then coughed up the ball. Whitaker then sealed the win with free throws. “Our bread and butter our defense was key at the end. We remained locked in and disciplined. They were physical and hit tough shots, but we withstood their pressure”, said Malik Whitaker “We didn´t run out of gas. Turnovers hurt us. Good teams like them will make you pay”, expressed Kelvin Omojola. The Fellbach Flashers were led by Malik Whitaker with 27 points. Daniel Mayer, Brian Butler and Jeremy Kolev chipped in with 12 points a piece while the Dragons Rhondorf were led by Tim Smith Jr with 17 points. Marco Rahn added 12 points and Janne Muller 11 points. The Fellbach Flashers shot 46% from the field and 33% from outside and had 42 rebounds and 18 turnovers while the Dragons Rhondorf shot 35% from the field and 23% from outside and had 47 rebounds and 16 turnovers.