The Dragons Rhondorf may be in the playoffs with one foot, but the regular season still had 2 games left. After convincing wins against Frankfurt and Coburg, the Dragons traveled to Ludwigsburg and really stunk up the gym and showed again just how unpredictable they can be this season. The fight for the last playoff places was fierce as there were 3 teams with 11 wins and Frankfurt lurking behind with 10 wins. The Dragons Rhondorf needed a win at home against Wurzburg who came into the game with 13 wins and in fifth place. Wurzburg has been playing good basketball as of late having won 3 of their last 4 games despite not always having full rosters as Hannes Steinbach and Calvin Wishart (188-G-1999, college: UCSB) weren’t always available. On a mild spring evening in Bad Honnef, the Dragons Rhondorf wanted to get back on the winning track while Wurzburg was seeking revenge after suffering a brutal buzzer beater loss on account of Alex Lagerman’s last second shot earlier in the season. However a basketball game has 40 minutes and not 30 as the Dragons Rhondorf were at eye level going into the fourth quarter, but a disastrous start and massive Wurzburg run paved the way to the 82-70 victory. Wurzburg saved their best defense for the end and it paid off as they allowed only 9 points. ‘We stuck together on the road allowing only 70 points. We played tough and we had some guys step up with Sokolov and Narvilas. We switched really well which messed them up’, stressed Wurzburg American Calvin Wishart. The Dragons Rhondorf really needed this win, but saved the most unwanted time of the season to totally collapse in the fourth quarter and now have a do or die game in Cologne against top team Rheinstars next weekend. ‘Our first 2 quarters were Ok and our third quarter was good. We moved the ball well, but Wishart hit tough shots all game long. We couldn’t execute against their zone in the fourth quarter and they hit tough shots which was the difference’, stressed Dragons Rhondorf guard Kelvin Omojola.

Matas Narvilas at the FT line

Both teams played a high tempo game in the first quarter as it was back and forth at the start, but Wurzburg upped their energy a bit more and executed a bit better to have the 20-15 advantage after 10 minutes. The game went back and forth in the first minutes as there were 6 lead changes. Ohio native Tim Smith Jr scored 2 baskets while Wurzburg was aided by 2 three’s from Minnesota native Calvin Wishart and ex Ibam guard Jonas Maerz. The Dragons hat difficulty hitting the three, but scored inside leading 8-7. However the Bavarian squad coached by ex German national player Alex King then heightened their game and went on a stifling 13-4 run to lead 20-12. In the run, Wurzburg played super team ball sharing the love around as Calvin Wishart made an amazing acrobatic lay in, ex Speyer player David Pisic a lay in, Lukas Roth a trey and Matas Narvilas a lay in. The Dragons Rhondorf were sloppy with their 1-1 defense, but doing a great job on the boards despite trailing. Wurzburg defended aggressively and forced the Dragons to tough shots which allowed them to have the 8 point lead. Ex Orange Academy guard Marko Rosic made a smart play at the end reading the pick and roll well and nailing a trey as Wurzburg led only 20-15 at the end of the first quarter. ‘We knew it would be a long game, so we went in very focused. We went in poised and weren’t to hyped’, said Calvin Wishart. Wurzburg shot 31% from the 2 point area and 38% from outside and had 13 rebounds and 3 turnovers while the Dragons Rhondorf shot 33% from the 2 point area and 20% from outside and had 15 rebounds and 2 turnovers.

Janne Muller from outside

In the second quarter the Wurzburg Baskets Akademie tried to break away, but the Dragons Rhondorf stayed with them and only trailed by 2 points at the break. Both clubs began with mini runs as ex Frankfurt player Alexander Lagerman scored back to back baskets with a lay in and then steal and coast to coast lay in spinning his way past an opponent as Wurzburg led 20-19, but the guests punched back with a 3 point play by Wishart and role player Eduard Ranz made a lay in as the Dragons trailed 25-19. But the Dragons didn’t let up, but struck back with a 5-0 run as they got a big trey by Mamadou Diallo and an offensive rebound and put back by ex BBL player Marco Rahn to trail 25-24. The Dragons got great support from their bench and worked extra hard on the offensive glass to preserve extra chances. But this time Wurzburg went on a big 10-2 run to lead 35-26 and didn’t allow the Dragons to punch back. In the run Wurzburg was led by their explosive walking bucket Calvin Wishart who supplied 8 points with 2 three’s while German David Gerhard also made a lay in. Wishart was the motor and his teammates followed his lead which increased the team energy while the Dragons Rhondorf got static in their offense and were missing that go to guy. But the Dragons woke up punching back with a 9-2 run to trail only 37-35. In the run, it was young Lithuanian Danas Kazakevicius who became that go to guy added 7 points as his energy and inside presence totally sparked his team as they defended more aggressively. In the last minutes, it was both teams bigs that dominated as Kazakevicius scored twice as did Clemons Sokolov including a pretty hook shot. 2024 U-18 Gold medalist Janne Muller ended the first half with a lay in as the Dragons Rhondorf trailed 43-41. ‘This was our worst quarter. We lost some energy. Coach was mad at us for making dumb mistakes’, stated Calvin Wishart. The Wurzburg Baskets Akademie shot 44% from the 2 point area and 36% from the three point line and had 22 rebounds and 3 turnovers while the Dragons Rhondorf shot 41% from the 2 point area and 22% from the three point line and had 31 rebounds and 2 turnovers.

Clemens Sokolov with the lay in

In the third quarter there were 6 lead changes and the Dragons Rhondorf tried to get away as they led by 5 points, but Wurzburg remained tough and led 62-61 after 30 minutes. Wurzburg had the narrow lead after a few minutes. Smith Jr hit a 20 footer and Rahn a trey, but Wurzburg also executed getting a 20 footer from Narvilas and lay in and free throw by Wishart as the Dragons trailed 48-46. The Dragons Rhondorf then collected some momentum going on a 9-2 run led by Kelvin Omojola to lead 55-50. One of Omojola’s biggest strength besides his trey is his aggressiveness and he scored twice with pretty lay in’s as he found his spots and scored. Rahn continued to also be aggressive and display his inside out game as he made another trey and made another offensive rebound and put back. Wurzburg’s intensity dipped a bit while the Dragons intensity was sky high at both ends and they also worked collectively very well on the boards. But the Dragons couldn’t break away as Wurzburg found their offensive rhythm again thanks to Mr motor Calvin Wishart that punished Rhondorf twice inside as they couldn’t contain him for 2 lay in’s and later he connected on a trey as Wurzburg had grabbed the lead back. ‘It was a close game. We fought back after their run. We were getting stops, but just not stringing them together yet’, commented Calvin Wishart. ‘We played well on offense. Our ball movement was good as we were swinging the ball side by side and getting great looks. We were all clicking. On defense we forced tough shots and rebounded well’, expressed Kelvin Omojola. The Wurzburg Baskets Akademie shot 51% from the 2 point area and 27% from the parking lot an dhad 32 rebounds and 6 turnovers while the Dragons Rhondorf shot 43% from the 2 point area and 31% from the parkin g lot and 42 rebounds and 5 turnovers.

Alexander Lagerman at the FT line

In the fourth quarter the most important quarter of the season, the Dragons Rhondorf were unable to play their game as they allowed a 11-0 run and were stopped 12 times in a row which they couldn’t recover from and caused the loss. Both teams couldn’t execute well in the first few minutes as both teams were stopped 4 times, but then Wurzburg found out of their funk going on a 11-0 run to extend their lead 73-61 and putting them in great position to win. In the run, the guests were aided most by Matas Narvilas who added 7 points while Wishart made a lay in and Sokolov also scored in the paint. ‘Matas had been sick, but I’m glad he was back. I told him before the game that we really need him. We need his offense and he produced. I told him this is no warm up, but game time’, added Calvin Wishart. Wurzburg showed that they didn’t only need Wishart in the games biggest run. Wishart had a great game with 31 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 blocks from him, but it was an almost normal day at the office. ‘It was a normal day at the office except for the 2 blocks. I had a nice Lebron chase down block. I just try to do whatever the team needs to win’, said Calvin Wishart. The Dragons Rhondorf couldn’t produce against the Wurzburg zone. When they finally did break through, it was at 4,26 minute mark as Lagerman scored and it was a 10 point game. In crunch-time, Wurzburg managed the lead well and just hurt the Dragons inside as Clemens Sokolov scored 3 times totally hampering their come back attempt. They got free throws from Janne Muller and a lay in by Kazakevicius, but they just couldn’t get over the hump. Omojola and Narvilas traded baskets at the end as the game finished. ‘We found the mismatches. We really didn’t have many plays. I was just told, ‘Calvin go downhill and create an advantage. We also strung together stops. I told the guys going into the fourth quarter that this game was ours’, warned Calvin Wishart. ‘We weren’t prepared to execute against their zone. Wishart has the ultimate green light. He is always in attack mode. That makes it really difficult to defend’, stressed Kelvin Omojola. The Wurzburg Baskets Akademie were led by Calvin Wishart with 31 points while Clemens Sokolov added 19 points and Matas Narvilas had 18 points while the Dragons Rhondorf were led by Danas Kazakevicius with 14 points while Alexander Lagewrman and Marco Rahn combined for 12 points a piece. The Wurzburg Baskets Akademie shot 43% from the field and 23% from outside and had 45 rebounds and 9 turnovers and the Dragons Rhondorf shot 36% from the field and 20% from outside and had 52 rebounds and 12 turnovers.