The season of 4-7 Pro B team Dragons Rhondorf has been in a free fall in the last weeks after their solid 3-2 start. The club has totally lost their rhythm having lost 5 of their last 6 games. Giving up points and rebounding continue to be a massive problem for the young troops of head coach Max Becker. The Dragons had 3 tough games before Christmas and they didn´t want to move further down in the standings. With Itzehoe and Neustadt awaiting them in the next weeks, it didn´t get any easier with Lok Bernau who is the farm team of BBL team Alba Berlin. Like Rhondorf, the club has many talented young Germans, but players that may still be young, but have more experience than the Dragons youth. Lok Bernau arrived into the game with a potent 8-3 record, but what was even more impressive was their immaculate 5-0 record on the road. After the Fiba break, the Dragons Rhondorf returned back into their living room and wanted to start a new winning streak and came together as a team for 45 minutes upsetting Lok Bernau 91-84 in overtime. Lok Bernau controlled the first half, but in the second half, the Dragons Rhondorf came together rebounding better and playing consistent aggressive defense forcing Lok Bernau to 22 turnovers. “Each game this season has been a dog fight. We were relentless tonight. We knew that we had to rebound well this game. We didn´t do it in the first half well, but in the second half, we rebounded a lot better. We did a better job stopping the lob pass and short roll passes in the second half. We all locked in on defense. This was our most important win of the season”, stressed Dragons Rhondorf guard JJuhwan Harris-Dyson (198-SG-1999, college: California). Lok Bernau played a solid game, but in the second half allowed the Dragons play their game and couldn´t get the momentum back in overtime. “We allowed them get easy baskets in important phases. We allowed them to play their game at the end. We allowed them find their rhythm in the second half and we didn´t defend aggressive enough and stop the pick and roll”, stressed Lok Bernau guard Anthony Watkins.

Anthony Watkins at the FT line

The first quarter was a real scoring clinic as 51 points were scored. Both teams found their offensive rhythm quickly as both teams attacked the rim well. Ex Artland Dragon Anthony Watkins who has 13 BBL games on his resume scored twice on the drive as his organization skills were top. The Dragons Rhondorf got good production from American Swiss Army knife JJuhwan Harris-Dyson who scored twice, but the guests still led 12-6. Lok Bernau´s offense playing quick always seemed a step ahead of the Dragons. Lok Bernau was changing players in and out and got sturdy minutes from their bench as German Emmanuel Schuler added 5 points for the 19-13 Lok Bernau lead. Lok Bernau also were controlling the boards and were securing offensive rebounds at ease that allowed them extra chances. Harris Dyson continued to be aggressive on offense adding 4 more points and cutting Lok Bernau´s lead down to 22-20. The California native also would have his best defensive game of the season as his pesky and feisty play secured him 5 blocks and 3 steals at the end of 45 minutes. The Mexican magician Jorge Mejias added 5 points down the stretch, but Lok Bernau played consistent until the end getting lay in´s from ex Leverkusen center Lukas Klein and German Anton Kemmer to lead 28-23 after 10 minutes. “I feel like we played decent in the first quarter. We couldn´t get 1-0 lay ups and had good shots. I´m proud of the guys as everyone contributed even the young guys like Vuk Scepanovic and David Bonning”, stressed JJuhwan Harris-Dyson. Lok Bernau shot 57% from the field and 25% from outside and had 13 rebounds and 5 turnovers. While the Dragons Rhondorf shot 53% from the field and 33% from outside and had 5 rebounds and 4 turnovers.

Kenan Reinhart from outside

The scoring was less in the second quarter as Lok Bernau won the quarter 18-15 and still led at the break 46-38. Lok Bernau began the second quarter hot going on a 9-3 run to extend their lead to 37-26. Lok Bernau continued to get to the rim easily as young German Lukas Klein scored twice while Noah Isichei made an offensive rebound and put back and ex Dragon Marco Rahn dropped a trey. The Dragons Rhondorf continued to have difficulty with the guests tempo and team defense and on offense couldn´t get to the rim as well anymore as they packed the paint area well. The Dragons Rhondorf took a time out and then got new energy from Harris-Dyson as he made free throws and a massive throw down after getting a steal that made the Dragon Dome shake, but Lok Bernau still led 39-30. “I had missed 2 dunks before that. I wanted to make sure this time that I could get it. I didn´t care who was in front of me. I just wanted to finish”, smiled JJuhwan Harris-Dyson. After a mini 4-0 run by Lok Bernau, the Dragons Rhondorf then buckled down on defense cruising out on a vital 8-0 run to trail 43-38. The Dragons Rhondorf were able to heighten their defensive aggressiveness another notch. The run began with back to back steals by Harris-Dyson and Fynn Dobiecki which led to Harris-Dyson free throws and a transition bucket from Dobiecki and a lay in by Mejias and Harris-Dyson again. The Dragons Rhondorf were unable to hold that momentum into half-time as Anthony Watkins ended it with a lay in and free throw. “We were able to stay with them. We still weren´t rebounding as well and didn´t get enough transition play”, stated JJuhwan Harris-Dyson. Lok Bernau shot 50% from the field and 21% from the three point line and had 27 rebounds and 13 turnovers while the Dragons Rhondorf shot 41% from the field and 17% from the three point line and had 14 rebounds and 9 turnovers.

Juhwan Harris-Dyson at the FT line

In the third quarter came the turning point as the Dragons Rhondorf would explode out on a massive run, but couldn´t keep the lead as Lok Bernau led by 2 points after 30 minutes. Spanish/Israeli guard Guy Altman began the second half with a pretty floater in Facundo Campazzo manner as Lok Bernau led 48-38. However then out of seemingly nothing, the Dragons Rhondorf showcased their offensive potential going on an incredible 17-0 run to turn the game around and lead 55-48. In the run, they produced 9 stops and on offense shared the love around as team basketball was the main focus. Role player Lagui Diallo dropped 2 three pointers while ex Oberaching center Benjamin Sadikovic scored 2 lay in´s and Kenan Renhart hit a trey and Duje Dujmovic made a lay in. The Dragons Rhondorf played nice team basketball, rebounded better and let their defense spark their offense. However the Dragons couldn´t keep the momentum until the end as Lok Bernau struck back ending the third quarter with a 13-4 run to gain the lead back at 61-59. In the run, Lok Bernau heightened their defensive aggressiveness and got easy lay in´s from German Meo Martin and German Matteo Hermann while also getting free throws from Schuler and got a big buzzer beater three at the end from Altman. Lok Bernau got steals and blocks that sparked their offense. “We became too cautious in the third quarter. We gave up easy baskets in that run and weren´t able to play our game”, said Anthony Watkins. “We came out with a sense of urgency and knew that we had to bounce back. We came out and hit them first. That run deflated them a bit. We just played a good quarter of basketball”, stated JJuhwan Harris-Dyson. Lok Bernau shot 43% from the field and 19% from the parking lot and had 39 rebounds and 18 turnovers while the Dragons Rhondorf shot 40% from the field and 24% from the parking lot and had 29 rebounds and 13 turnovers.

Harris-Dyson b

The fourth quarter was a real dog fight where Lok Bernau had 2 chances in the last few seconds to win, but the basketball God rather wanted to see an overtime with the score of 79-79. Lok Bernau began quickly with back to back buckets from Mr quadruple double Shawn Scott with a lay in while Isichei made another offensive rebound and put back for the 65-59 Bernau advantage. However Kenan Reinhart had other ideas scoring 5 unanswered points and Harris-Dyson made a free throw as suddenly the game was deadlocked at 65-65. Lok Bernau then produced 5 unanswered points as Artman dropped a trey and young German Finn Borczanowski added a tap in for the 72-67 lead. The Dragon Dome was loud and the Dragons didn´t wilt as they fought back getting 9 points in a row by Jorge Mejias as Rhondorf had the 76-74 lead. However Anthony Watkins made an off balance shot to tie the game 76-76 with 1,33 to play. After Harris-Dyson free throws, it was Borczanowski again with a clutch shot as he made a triple for the 79-78 lead. Harris Dyson then only made 1of 2 free throws to tie the game at 79-79. Lok Bernau had the last possession and Artman missed a trey that rattled out while the tip in attempt just missed forcing overtime. “Mejias was finding us all game. I told him in the third quarter that I would get him the ball. I knew they were focusing more on me. He really delivered in crunch-time with big buckets. He is always capable of getting a double double. He is always battling on the court”, stressed JJuhwan Harris-Dyson. “We stuck together and were able to get multiple stops. Our missed free throws really hurt us”, commented Anthony Watkins. The Dragons Rhondorf took care of business in the overtime period sticking together as a team and buckled down on defense getting big stops while rattling a 10-2 run to end the game with a upset win. In the run, it was Duje Dujmovic who added 6 points including an exclamation point at the end with a dunk. Mejias added 4 points securing the dub. “I think that we wanted it more. We took the momentum into OT and kept it. We made all the right decisions”, warned JJuhwan Harris-Dyson. “They took the momentum and we struggled to fight back. We weren´t able to play our game which is fast”, warned Anthony Watkins. The Dragons Rhondorf were led by JJuhwan Harris-Dyson with 25 points- Jorge Mejias added 20 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists while Kenan Reinhart added 12 points. Lok Bernau was led by Anthony Watkins with 15 points while Emmanuel Schuler and Guy Artman added 12 points a piece. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 41% from the field and 24% from outside and had 48 rebounds and 18 turnovers while Lok Bernau shot 36% from the field and 17% from outside and had 63 rebounds and 22 turnovers.