There had been changes the last few seasons for the EPG Baskets as some players went and came as usual and even the name had been changed briefly to the Guardians and changed back to the Baskets, but the face lift that the club took this past summer was immense. An almost total house cleaning had been done. A whole new coaching staff had been hauled in from Rhondorf as Thomas Klein is hoping for some of that magic from the Dragons Pro B title in 2024 to rub off on the Koblenz team. The club had added a healthy mix of young and old and especially under the basket where better stacked than in previous seasons. However the EPG Baskets had no cake walk in their first game as they faced 2010 Eurochallenge winner and ex easyCrerdit BBL team BG Goettingen who had moved back down to the Pro A. On a cool Sunday afternoon in late September, the EPG Baskets Koblenz were able to stick with BG Goettingen for a quarter, but in the second quarter the ex BBL team took control of the game and never looked back winning 98-80. BG Goettingen showed severe consistency and got much help from their sturdy bench and controlled the boards. “We were consistent and played hard for 40 minutes. We were able to play our pace and played aggressive defense. We focused on sharing the ball well and communicating well on defense”, stressed ex University of Nebraska-Omaha (NCAA) guard Zach Jackson (198-G-1997, college: Omaha). The EPG Baskets Koblenz played a strong first quarter, but after that their intensity wanned at both ends while their 1-1 defense wasn´t existent. “They played with good speed and pace. We were always a step slower. That was a big difference. We were stagnant on offense. We helped them play better defense with our play. We did move the ball better in the second half. They were very experienced and always made us pay for our mistakes”, stressed EPG Baskets guard Garrett Hicks.

Aleksa Kovacevic at the FT line

BG Goettingen raced out on a rapid 4-0 lead as they attacked the rim getting lay in´s by ex Jena forward Robin Lodders and ex Alba Berlin forward Hendrik Drescher. However the EPG Baskets Koblenz struck back quick with a lay in by ex BBL player Aleksa Kovacevic and a runner by American Garrett Hicks to trail 6-4. Despite being a really good shooting team, BG Goettingen demonstrated early that they would be going inside a lot and would do it for 40 minutes. German Julius Bohmer heaved home a dunk and Swedish national player Adam Ramstedt made a lay in for the 13-9 advantage. Koblenz had early problems with their 1-1 defense and allowed easy baskets as the help defense was always a step to slow. BG Goettingen couldn´t get away as ex Wurzburg guard Calvin Wishart dropped consecutive three pointers and a free throw gave the EPG Baskets Koblenz their first lead of the contest 18-17. But BG Goettingen went to their bench and got instant support from American Kevin Buckingham who played at South Eastern Oklahoma State who drained back to back three´s for the 23-20 lead. However the EPG Baskets Koblenz offense was executing well as Kovacevic did a good job getting all involved. Wishart made free throws and ex Trier forward Jannis Sonnefeld made a runner as BG Goettingen had the slim 25-23 advantage after 10 minutes. The first quarter showed that there was no difference in play between the ex BBL team BG Goettingen and the EPG Baskets who almost moved down to the Pro B last season. “It was a dynamic and physical first quarter that lived form points and turnovers. Both teams hit three´s. We were at eye level with them”, stated EPG Baskets Koblenz sport director Thomas Klein.

Jordan Sears from downtown

However the game changed in the second quarter as the tide turned for BG Goettingen who continued to play their game while their aggressive play at both ends wore Koblenz down as they couldn´t match their intensity. Ex Leipzig forward Jonas NIedermanner began the second quarter with a key three to tie the game at 25-25, but then came the turning point of the contest as BG Goettingen showed no mercy going on a brutal 17-5 run to lead 42-30. In the run BG Goettingen were led by Zach Jackson with 7 points who scored at ease in the paint, on transition and in the set play. But overall, BG Goettingen still shared the ball nicely as ex Tuebingen guard Mathis Monnighoff made an off balance shot, ex Louisiana State University (NCAA) guard Jordan Sears made a reverse lay up and lay in. The paint dominated this phase as BG Goettingen just destroyed the EPG Baskets while on the defensive end denied the entry pass and disallowed them getting into the paint area on penetration. BG Goettingen continued to execute with force on offense and especially got great support form their bench as German Jannis Junemann was aggressive and swished home 6 free throws while Bohmer continued to be active scoring a basket. Here and there, the EPG Baskets Koblenz would find some rare daylight in the paint as Kovacevic scored and Wishart with his quick footing and moves scored with a runner at the buzzer, but BG Goettingen had the comfortable 52-37 advantage at half time. “Our 1-1 defense was horrible. We had too many turnovers and gave up too many easy baskets. Their bench also produced way to much”, added Thomas Klein. BG Goettingen shot 55% form the field and 25% from outside and had 19 rebounds and 10 turnovers while the EPG Baskets Koblenz shot 435 from the field and 21% from outside and had 10 rebounds and 10 turnovers.

Jordan Sears at the FT line

In the third quarter the EPG Baskets began a bit reborn executing right away with a lethal 7-2 run to cut BG Goettingen´s lead down to 54-44, but that was as close as they would get in the game. In the run, the EPG Baskets Koblenz got 2 buckets from Kovacevic as his quickness helped him score while Sonnefeld also scored. However BG Goettingen then just rebounded the way a great team does by slapping their own run in the faces of Koblenz as they scored 18 points and the Baskets only 5 points. BG Goettingen did a super job sharing the ball around as usual in this game got great support from their bench. Ex Dresden guard Daniel Kirchner scored 5 points while Hendrik Drescher showed his solid inside out game scoring 4 points while Buckingham also added 4 points. Sears and Monninghoff also added free throws. BG Goettingen played pretty pick and roll and their high low game also worked well with their bigs. There was so little offensive input from Koblenz. NIedermanner added a trey late, but BG Goettingen closed out the third quarter with a 5-0 run as Bohmer made a lay in and Sears dropped a trey as BG Goettingen led 77-52 after 30 minutes. “We didn´t want to come out lackadaisical like we did against Bonn. We locked up and upped our intensity”, commented Zach Jackson. “We wanted to apply more pressure. We showed glimpses of good defense. We cut faster and the ball was moving better. We also were tighter on closeouts”, expressed Garret Hicks.

Jannis Sonnefeld with the lay in

In the fourth quarter the EPG Baskets Koblenz had their best offensive quarter exploding for 28 points, but couldn´t do any damage as BG Goettingen scored 21 points. Once again like in the previous quarter, the EPG Baskets Koblenz had a hot start going on a 8-2 run to trail 79-60. Ex Dragons Rhondorf guard Badu Buck nailed a trey which was followed by a Hicks three pointer. The Baskets offense was flowing, but defensively there was no energy. Ex Oldenburg forward Hendrik Drescher was a thorn in the Baskets side as he dropped 2 three´s for the 85-64 lead. Drescher was for a few minutes a one man wrecking crew as he scored from where he wanted to including a lay in. The EPG Baskets also got some unexpected support from German big man Alex Moeller who is more known for setting picks and rebounding than scoring, but in a 3 minute phase was aggressive going to the hoop time after time and scored 9 points and would finish with 14 points, but BG Goettingen still led 91-75. The BG Goettingen win overshadowed a great play by Calvin Wishart. Wishart made a beautiful over the shoulder pass ala Larry Bird. That is something that fans can get used to this season from the versatile Wishart. BG Goettingen got a few more buckets in the last 2 minutes from Ramstedt and Kirchner while Jonas Niedermanner added 5 points at the end, but it was too little to late. “We had no let downs. I feel like we could of held them to less points. That is something that we need to work on”, stated Zach Jackson. “We played desperate basketball in the last quarter. We were trapping all over the court. We gave up too many easy baskets. We need better pressure and better rotations”, warned Garrett Hicks. “I think that guys weren´t scared, but overanxious. For many it was their first Pro A game. Even when we aren´t scoring, we want the guys to progress in other areas. We fought today and played tough. We have to learn and build”, warned KJ Sherrill. BG Goettingen had 5 players in double figures led by Hendrik Drescher with 15 points while Kevin Buckingham scored 13 points while the EPG Baskets were led by Calvin Wishart with 19 points while Alex Moeller had 14 points. BG Goettingen shot 55% from the field and 35% from the three point line and had 35 rebounds and 17 turnovers while the EPG Baskets shot 44% from the field and 31% from the three point line and had 28 rebounds and 17 turnovers.