JJ Mann 25 Points Vs The EPG Baskets Koblenz

The EPG Baskets opened up the CGM arena for the fans for their first public appearance in the preseason. The club who will enter their fourth Pro A season has had a very successful pre season as of late especially against pro A teams. Two weeks ago, they defeated the Giessen 46ers in their own living room and last weekend went on the road to beat Bochum. They wanted to make three in a row in the Pro A in the Preseason as they welcomed new Pro A team ETB Miners Essen. On a mild late summer Sunday, the EPG Baskets Koblenz wanted to keep their pre season unbeaten record against German Pro A teams alive, but suffered a road block with the ETB Miners Essen who played a solid game and took charge in crunch time with a 15-0 run to win the game easily against the EPG Baskets Koblenz 94-80. Essen didn´t play a perfect game, but played well for long stretches and showed refreshing early season team ball. “We played well for 30 minutes. We had a little lull in the second quarter. I think we were a bit too excited. But we responded well and executed well in the second half. You need to play well for 36-37 minutes in the Pro A to win. We moved the ball well. We have a good group of guys. It was a good showing”, stressed ex Trier American J.J. Mann (198-SF-1991, college: Belmont). 35 year old J.J. Mann who led all scorers with 25 points proved that age is only a number as he performed like a MVP player that leads his team to wins. The guy has proved for a decade that he can play consistently and win games and is still doing it and not slowing down. “I have won a lot of games in Pro A. I don´t have much time left and have extra motivation. I want to finish strong. I´m on a reminder tour. I need to show that the older guys still got it”, smiled J.J. Mann. “You always know what J.J. Mann can give in a game, but still we have to be capable of controlling him better”, said Jannis Sonnefeld. The EPG Baskets Koblenz didn´t have a great start and had to play catch up basketball for 98% of the game. The team had problems in many areas, but still have three weeks to clean up before Bayreuth come to town. “We were asleep in the first quarter. We fought back in the second quarter and got the lead through high energy in the third quaretr. However we fell apart in the fourth quarter as we were chaotic at both ends of the court”, stressed German forward Jannis Sonnefeld.

Tre Beard from outside

The ETB Miners who moved up from the Pro B came into the game playing more like a playoff team taking the rapid 12-5 lead. J.J. Mann got going right away showing his versatile play having 5 points, 1 offensive rebound and 1 steal in the first 2.15 minutes. Koblenz also got some baskets from ex Georgia Southern (NCAA) guard Tyren Moore and a lay in by Romanian national player Dragos Diculescu, but all in all Essen had more energy and intensity running their sets well and getting additional points from new player Tre Beard who played at Cleveland State (NCAA) last season with 4 baskets and ex Koblenz forward Nicolas Sperber connected on a trey. Essen had superb body language and had surprising self confidence for a new Pro A team. The EPG Baskets couldn´t Match Essen´s intensity and had problems on the rebound and couldn´t get into their offensive sets well. Essen continued to execute well and hit the trey ball as Sperber nailed a second one as well as Mann who received the pretty over the head pass from Sperber that brought back memories of Larry Bird. “That pass was very Larry Bird like. We have good chemistry. We know where the other always is”, stated J.J. Mann. Essen had the sound 21-7 lead. Koblenz couldn´t muster much offense while Essen continued to let it rain three´s as Mann scored again as well as ex Marist (NCAA) forward Jackson Price for the 24-10 advantage. Koblenz received some vital support from ex Nurnberg center Ferenc Gille with a trey while ex Bonn center Alex Moeller scored back door. However Essen continued to score at ease and steals also helped for easy baskets Price scored on transition while sniper Marc Friederici also hit a trey for the comfortable 35-18 Essen advantage after 10 minutes. “Essen came into the game with a lot of energy. We couldn´t match that and our body language wasn´t good”, stressed EPG Baskets Koblenz sport director Thomas Klein.

Chase Johnson at the FT line

In the second quarter the EPG Baskets Koblenz had to find an answer and did winning the quarter 24-14 and trailed only 49-42 at the break. The EPG Baskets Koblenz started off hot going on a rapid 5-0 run to trail 38-23 as Moeller made an offensive rebound and put back while Moore connected on a trey. Koblenz was a lot more aggressive at both ends and the energy was finally present. Koblenz was playing their best offense of the game as they finally executed at ease, but the stops weren´t there as they were trading baskets with Essen as they couldn´t really get closer. Essen got buckets from Mann and Friederici while Koblenz countered with a Moeller lay in and free throws from ex Northwestern State (NCAA) forward Chase Johnson, but Essen still led 42-27. It also didn´t help Koblenz as they missed many free throws that hindered their come back as well. Mann continued to be a menace as he continued to display his versatile shooting hitting a 20 footer at the baseline for the 44-28 lead. However then came the emergence of rookie ex Santa Clara forward Camaron Tongue who was a force on the glass securing rebounds while also making a trey. He finished with 10 points and 6 boards in only 14 minutes. He was still injured in the first few weeks, but showed that he was on a good way back. “He isn´t 100% yet, but he showed how dominant he can be without the ball. He may seem undersized, but he is so strong”, warned KJ Sherril. Gille then gave the team added energy with a massive two handed dunk and suddenly Koblenz trailed only 46-36. Ex easyCredit BBL player Craig Moeller added a trey, but Tyren Moore ended the first half with fire draining back to back three´s. “We played with more physicality on defense and were helped by individual qualities from players”, stated Thomas Klein.

Tre Beard at the FT line

In the third quarter the EPG Baskets Koblenz continued to battle and even got their first lead of the game, but that was short lived as they gave it up again and lost some energy in the last two minutes to trail by 7 points after 30 minutes. The EPG Baskets Koblenz had another super start coming into the second half with a quick 6-0 run to trail only 49-48. In the run they were aided by 3 lay in´s. The aggressiveness of the drive was missing in the first half, but in the first few minutes Johnson, Sonnefeld and Moore all scored in the paint. Koblenz heightened their physicality once more at both ends and were rewarded. Mann stopped the run with a lethal trey for the 52-48 lead, but Koblenz kept fighting getting another lay in from Johnson and Tongue was efficient and clutch again in limited time with another three pointer and Koblenz´s first lead of the game at 54-52. However Essen stayed strong as they had answers but so did Koblenz as both teams traded baskets as Mann made a pretty floater and Beard chipped in with 4 unanswered points while Koblenz got a hammer dunk by Tongue and a runner by Chase Johnson to dead lock the contest at 58-58. However the EPG Baskets Koblenz weren´t able to keep pace as they allowed Essen to go on a 11-4 run to lead 69-62 after three quarters. A Stephan Dohrn technical foul led to a lay in by Craig Moeller and free throws by Tre Beard for the 62-58 advantage. Chase Johnson continued to be in attack mode with a lay in to trail 62-60, but Essen just kept the intensity higher and got a lay in by Marc Friederici and 5 points by Tre Beard. Koblenz´s 1-1 defense was weak as Essen was getting way too many easy looks. “We made a couple of good adjustments and got back to being ourselves in the last minutes. We shit down their key players and just made good plays and shots and got out of the hole”, added J.J. Mann. “We came out strong right away with a nice run. We had very good energy. We got the lead and that gave us a push, but we couldn´t build on it”, commented Jannis Sonnefeld.

Dragos Diculescu to the hole

In the fourth quarter the EPG Baskets Koblenz had a good start again, but then had poor spurts which the ETB Miners took advantage of being able to control the game and cruise to the win. The EPG Baskets Koblenz began with a 5-0 run as new imports Moore made a lay in and Williams hit a trey to trail 69-67. “Moore is such a smart player that knows how to read the defense so well”, stressed Thomas Klein. However that little run didn´t scare Essen as they punched back with their own 5-0 run to lead 74-67. In the run, Essen got a lay in from Beard and step back jumper from Friederici. Koblenz punched back with a mini 4-0 run as Johnson and Moore scored to trail 74-71. Both are so difficult to contain on the drive as they will give many Pro A teams problems this season. This was the perfect opportunity for Koblenz to practice taking control of the game, but it didn´t work as they still have a lot to work on in crunch-time situations. Essen now made their move and produced the final mega punch with a 15-0 run to seal the win and lead 88-73. In the run Essen got free throws from Mann and ex Nurnberg guard Isaiah Sanders, 5 points by Sperber and lay in´s by Beard and Craig Moeller. “We did a great job sticking together. We switched everything. We could of rebounded better. Sperber played great. We hit three´s and showed real character”, warned J.J. Mann. “We were chaotic at both ends. We didn´t play good 1-1 defense and didn´t rebound consistently. We had more size and couldn´t take advantage of it”, stated Jannis Sonnefeld. Diculescu stopped the run with free throws, but the damage had already been done. Essen didn´t let up, but ended the game strong with three´s by Friederici and Mann. The ETB Miners had 5 guys score in double figures led by J.J. Mann with 25 points while Marc Friederici added 14 points while the EPG Baskets Koblenz were led by Tyren Moore with 18 points while Chase Johnson had 16 points. The ETB Miners Essen shot 47% from the field and 34 % from outside and had 37 rebounds and 11 turnovers while the EPG Baskets Koblenz shot 42% from the field and 27% from outside and had 38 rebounds and 12 turnovers.