boys-basketball

Colin Schroeder Has Career Game Powering The Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede To 110-101 Shootout Win Over The Dragons Rhondorf

It is now the back swing of the Pro B season where every win is so crucial for the playoff spots and from getting away from the cellar. Every new game gets more vital for the Dragons Rhondorf, but their current 4 game losing streak was at the absolute worst part of the season. They drastically needed a win and the only good news for them was that they were only 2 wins away from the last playoff spot. The bad news was that next on the menu was another tough opponent with the Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede who were resting in 5th place with a record of 10-8 and wanted to win their fourth game in a row. They like Rhondorf was a team stacked with young German talent led by 2 explosive imports with Jonil Fugett and Beni Fungula. It would be another difficult challenge for the Dragons Rhondorf and like against the EN Baskets Schwelm, they were able to hang on for a half, but in the second half had a disastrous third quarter that helped pave the way for the 110-101 win for the Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede. The Dragons Rhondorf did string together an amazing comeback in the fourth quarter to be down 4 points with les than a minute to play, but couldn´t get over the hump. “We played well for ¾ of the game. It was a heartbreaker to be down 20 and then fight back and lose. We couldn´t execute on the defensive end. It is hard to win when they hit three after three in a row”, stressed Dragons Rhondorf guard Juhwan Harris-Dyson. The guests played a strong game and despite a brief let up in the fourth quarter got the win. “We played a sold game. The first half was pretty even. We dominated in the third quarter and in the fourth quarter let up a bit, but buckled down and stuck together as a team to pull out win”, stressed Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede guard Colin Schroeder (193-F-2006).

Colin Schroeder at the FT line

Both teams found their offensive rhythm rapidly as the Dragons Rhondorf got 2 buckets from big man ex Oberaching center Benjamin Sadikovic while the guests got some proper support from NBBL finalists Johan Helwig and Ore Ewert for the 8-7 advantage. The Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede continued to keep the lead getting support from U-18 Euro gold medalist Colin Schroeder who scored 2 baskets for the 14-10 lead. The young German who has played 6 BBL games sparkled with his athleticism and drive to the hoop. The guests continued to get support from all over as 29 year old German veteran Alan Boger nailed a trey for the 17-13 lead. However the Dragons Rhondorf got a big spark from new player from Italy Josh Petteno a classic 3 and D player that gave much energy leading his new team on a 11-0 run with 7 points. Jorge Mejias also added clutch three pointer and pretty dime to Duje Dujmovic after making an ankle breaker on his opponent. “It is always nice to see a highlight play like that in person. Jorge is very creative. You never know what you will get from him”, smiled Juhwan Harris-Dyson. Ex easyCredit BBL player Fritz Hemschmeier added a big trey with 1 second left on the clock as the Dragons Rhondorf led 28-24 after 10 minutes. “Rhondorf did a good job on Fugett. They played a box and 1 and we had to go to our bigs. Even if they had the lead, it was a game of momentum. A basketball game isn´t only about 1 quarter”, said Colin Schroeder. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 71% from the field and 40% from outside and had 11 rebounds and 3 turnovers while the Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede shot 44% from the field and 50% form outside and had 5 rebounds and 4 turnovers.

Jorge Mejias from outside

The Dragons Rhondorf kept a slim lead for a while until giving up a little run and trailed 49-47 at half-time. The Dragons Rhondorf stayed aggressive and looked for openings and were rewarded with lay in´s by Dujmovic and Harris Dyson, but couldn´t get a bigger lead as ex Swedish youth national player Beni Fungula kept his team in the game with his incredible ability for picking his spots as he scored twice as Rhondorf led 32-28. The Dragons Rhondorf kept the lead getting some more baskets from Mejias who hit his bread and butter mid distance jumper and Harris Dyson showed his 2 way player qualities making a steal and dunk on transition for the 36-33 advantage. However the Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede struck back like lightening with back to back three´s from Fungula and Fugett for the 41-37 lead. It was Fugett´s first field goal of the game. Rhondorf fought back testing the three point line getting a massive trey from young German Carlo Schmid and Dujmovic also displayed the hot hand as the Dragons swiped the lead back at 45-43. However the Dragons Rhondorf were unable to keep the lead as Fungula added 4 points and Schroeder a trey for the 2 point advantage at the break. “The second quarter was back and forth. It was a lot of fun. We had difficulty securing the rebound”, stated Colin Schroeder. The Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede shot 45% from the field and 40% from the three point line and had 14 rebounds and 7 turnovers and the Dragons Rhondorf shot 64% from the field and 50% from the three point line and had 20 rebounds and 7 turnovers.

Jonil Fugett from downtown

The turning point of the game occurred in the third quarter where the Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede exploded for 37 points to take the 84-64 lead after 30 minutes. Both teams executed well in the first few minutes as the guests got baskets from 2024 NBBL finalists Schroeder and Helwig while the Dragons Rhondorf got buckets from Mejias and a free throw from Harris Dyson who had a tough 4/12 day from the free throw line to trail 55-50. Fungula made a pretty pass to Helwig for the dime and then showed the Binocular look with his hands to his eyes to the bench. “Beni signaled that a nice pass should also be celebrated and not only a nice basket. That gave us energy”, stated Colin Schroeder. Then the tide turned as the Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede broke out on a 20-5 run to extend their lead to 75-55. The Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede found the hot hand from outside as Hellwig connected 3 times while Boger and Ewert also connected. Schroeder continued to be a mismatch problem as he also scored inside. The guests picked up the aggressive on ball defense forcing the Dragons to many turnovers while also controlling the offensive glass. “You always know what you will get from Johan Hellwig. He seldom has a bad day. When he is in the corner and let´s it fly, you might as well go away, because that ball is going in”, smiled Colin Schroeder. The Dragons Rhondorf got some offense going with a Harris-Dyson dunk and trey from ex RheinStar Kenan Reinhart, but couldn´t make any ground as Alan Boger connected twice from outside and Hemschmeier made an acrobatic lay in for the big 20 point lead after 3 quarters. “We found together as a team. Three pointers seem to fall well when your in rhythm. We were all on the same page”, added Colin Schroeder. “We left the shooters open. We focused too much on the drive and couldn´t figure a way out to stop their shooters. We also had careless turnovers”, added Juhwan Harris-Dyson. The Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede shot 63% form the 2 point area and 47% from the parking lot and had 23 rebounds and 11 turnovers while the Dragons Rhondorf shot 73% from the 2 point range and 38% from the parking lot and had 23 rebounds and 12 turnovers.

Juhwan Harris-Dyson from the FT line

The game looked decided in the fourth quarter, but a game has 40 minutes and the Dragons Rhondorf staged a late comeback. The Dragons Rohndorf came out in the last 10 minutes in strong fashion going on a 8-0 run to trail only 86-72. In the run, the Dragons got 2 big three´s from Mejias and a dunk from Carlo Schmid. The Dragons stepped up their defense again and on offense moved the ball better and made better decisions. However the Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede found their rhythm again and the Dragons Rhondorf couldn´t get under a 10 point deficit. The guests got 3 scores in a row from Colin Schroeder while the Dragons Rhondorf got a lay in from Harris-Dyson and tap in from Schmid, but the Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede still led 94-78. Fugett also began to find his spots better again scoring twice while Mejias made the next magical pass behind the back for Dujmovic to trail 96-80. The minutes were winding down and crunch-time arrived and the Dragons Rhondorf found some extra energy and staged a explosive 14-2 run to suddenly trail 102-98 with less than a minute to play. In the run, the Dragons Rhondorf were able to play their game with aggressive defense and transition. Harris-Dyson was instrumental on defense and added 3 transition baskets. Schmid added a beautiful poster dunk on Fungula, Dujmovic added 2 transition buckets and Ilic a trey. However the Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede buckled down and got a big Fungula dunk for the 104-98 lead. Dujmovic added another basket to trail 104-100, but the guests got stops and Hemschmeier free throws sealed the win for the Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede. “We knew after the third quarter, that we had to finish the game strong. However we rested too much after that third quarter. We gave up a run at the end, but we woke up just in time. We stayed together as a team and closed out the game”, said Colin Schroeder. “We fought back. We got stops and ran. That is when we are at our best. We just couldn´t finish the game”, said Juhwan Harris-Dyson. The Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede had 6 guys score in double figures led by Beni Fungula with 25 points while Colin Schroeder added 24 points. The Dragons Rhondorf were led by Juhwan Harris-Dyson with 23 points and Jorge Mejias added 20 points and 12 assists. The Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede shot 53% from the field and 41% from outside and had 32 rebounds and 18 turnovers while the Dragons Rhondorf shot 62% from the field and 42% from outside and had 31 rebounds and 13 turnovers.

Chuck Harris Supplies 33 Points And The Killer Instinct In Overtime Powering Kirchheim Past The EPG Baskets Koblenz 105-98

Basketball fans in general in Koblenz couldn´t have wished for a more exciting game to close out 2025 than the EPG Baskets battling Kirchheim. Only 7 weeks ago, both teams had begun slowly and had a combined record of 3-9 on November second. However since then both teams had experienced a special rebirth as the southern team from Kirchheim belonged to the hottest teams in the league having won 7 of their last 8 games while Koblenz also have slowly found out of their funk having won 5 of their last 8 games and in between had ridden a potent 4 game winning streak. Kirchheim was perched in seventh place with a 8-6 record while Koblenz was fighting to get in the top 8 playoff places having a 7-7 record and were in 11th place. Both teams wanted to close out 2025 with a bang and it was a game that was dominated for the most part by the EPG Baskets Koblenz, however they couldn´t finish the job as the Bozic Estriche Knights fought back forcing overtime and then had the killer instinct winning 105-98. Kircheim were powered by rookie Chuck Harris (188-G-2001, college: SMU) who supplied big shots all game long and then had the killer instinct making a big three supplying the last punch for the win. “We started off slow, but at the half-time talk, we stressed staying positive. We knew we could still make something happen in the second half. We stuck together as a team and always believed that we could win. We stayed disciplined and played with a lot of energy”, stressed Bozic Estriche Knights guard Chuck Harris. For the EPG Baskets Koblenz, it was their second bitter loss in a row as they continue to have difficulty closing out games. “We simply weren´t consistent enough. We had some good phases during the game, but we allowed them to come back twice. When your up by 16 points, you just can´t give it away the way we did”, stressed EPG Baskets Koblenz center Marko Bacak.

Calvin Wishart at the FT line

Both clubs had massive difficulty finding an offensive rhythm in the first 3 minutes as both teams were stopped 5 times. Koblenz finally broke the ice as ex Schwenningen guard Badu Buck nailed a trey. Kirchheim also added a basket from unorthodox but efficient American player Nick Spinoso to trail 3-2. Both teams then scored with ease, but Koblenz kept the slim lead with a transition basket from ex G-League player DJ Jeffries who celebrated his 26th birthday while ex Rhondorf forward Tim Smith Jr hit a trey for the 10-8 advantage. Ex Koblenz guard Lucas Mayer stayed aggressive and made 2 buckets on the drive. However Koblenz then celebrated their first big run of the game scoring 13 points while the guests managed only 2 to lead 23-10. Koblenz got spirited play from their guards Garrett Hicks and Calvin Wishart who dropped three´s while their bigs also were efficient as ex Rhondorf German Alex Moeller made a lay in in traffic and ex Oldenburg center Marko Bacak made a pretty bank shot. Koblenz played nice team ball and defensively stayed disciplined and looked for the best shot on offense. Kirchheim got a clutch trey from young German Gian Aydinoglu and a jumper by Harris at the buzzer to trail 28-19 after 10 minutes. “Koblenz was playing a strong game. They had a good balance between offense and defense. The team also played nice inside out basketball and played aggressive on defense. They did have some problems with 1-1 defense”, stressed EPG Baskets Koblenz sport director Thomas Klein.

Jonas Niedermanner from outside

The Bozic Estriche Knights Kirchheim fought back aggressively in the first minutes of the second quarter to dead lock the game, but Koblenz switched the lever 180 degrees and went on a giant run to get the big lead at the break. The Bozic Estriche Knights Kirchheim broke out on a rapid 9 -0 run to dead lock the game at 28-28. Koblenz fell into their typical lethargic play where they could find no rhythm and had mental lapses and were unconcentrated. Kirchheim received consecutive buckets from Spinoso, a trey by Harris and a lay in by Russell. Koblenz couldn´t play their fast game and were forced to the set play that hurt them. Koblenz head coach Stephan Dohrn was fuming on the sidelines and in lightening fashion subbed in 5 guys and that was the missing recipe. The 5 new guys sparked a 16-2 run that totally shocked Kirchheim as they trailed 44-30. The run was led by Calvin Wishart who was playing like a MVP player. He played more the playmaker up to that point, but in the run showed exactly what qualities he has. He continued to run the team adding 4 points and dazzling with no looks passes and made a steal. American Garrett Hicks added real energy with 2 three´s while Bacak made another basket and ex Hagen forward Devonte McCall added 3 points. Ee Texas State forward Tylan Pope then added his only basket of the game who had a cold shooting night at 1/6. But Koblenz continued to execute with ease as Moeller scored again inside as did ex Kirchheim forward Jonas Niedermanner for the 49-30 lead as the run had grown to 21-2. Kirchheim got free throws from Harris and a lay in by ex Virginia Commonwealth University guard Philipp Russell, but the Koblenz defense was consistent and aggressive making everything tough for the Knights. Koblenz had the overwhelming 58-39 advantage at half-time. “That was an incredible Koblenz run. Switching in 5 new guys really did the trick. We continued to defend very well, but we let up a bit at the end”, stated Thomas Klein. The EPG Baskets Koblenz shot 58% from the field and 50% from the three point line and had 22 rebounds and 6 turnovers while the Bozic Estriche Knights Kirchheim shot 45% from the field and 14% from the three point line and had 14 rebounds and 6 turnovers.

Aenas Jung at the FT line

The Bozic Estriche Knights Kirchheim made a swift comeback in the first minutes of the third quarter, but the EPG Baskets Koblenz staged another big run to get the big lead back again. Kirchheim began hot going on a 8-0 run to trail 58-47. Ex Butler (NCAA) guard Chuck Harris hit back to back three´s and Russell made a lay in. Kirchheim produced 4 stops as Koblenz didn´t play the team ball that made them so successful in the first half. Niedermanner finally stopped the run with a trey to lead 61-47. Kirchheim still had the momentum and continued to pour on the offense rolling out a 13-2 run to suddenly only trail 63-60. Russell was the man in the run as he produced 8 points including 2 three´s. Spinoso also added a nice old school left handed hook shot while German role player Nil Failenschmid made a lay in. Kirchheim´s on ball defense became more aggressive stifling Koblenz to bitter turnovers and Koblenz had too many mental lapses. But basketball is a game of runs and Koblenz reacted forcefully with a brutal 13-2 run to end the third quarter leading 76-62. Suddenly Koblenz was mentally sharp again and found back to their team game and controlled the boards one of their team goals for the game. In the run, Koblenz received 4 points from Smith who added a putback while Jeffries and Wishart made lay in´s and Hicks a trey. “We gave up easy rebounds at start, but then came back with more energy. Ín our run we ran again which led to easy baskets”, commented Marko Bacak. “We woke up in the third quarter at the start. However our bench wasn´t able to give us the needed energy in their run”, expressed Bozic Estriche Knights Kirchheim head coach Igor Perovic.

Nil Failenschmid from the corner

The EPG Baskets Koblenz managed their lead well in the first minutes of the fourth quarter, but the Bozic Estriche Knights Kirchheim never gave up, but just kept chipping away and with time they slowly crept closer and forced overtime. The EPG Baskets Koblenz got some key three´s early as Jeffries and Wishart scored for the 82-66 advantage. However the Bozic Estriche Knights Kirchheim just kept fighting raising their defensive intensity and rode on a lethal 19-2 run to take their first lead of the game at 86-85. In the run, the Bozic Estriche Knights Kirchheim did a great job sharing the offensive love around as 5 different guys scored. Kirchheim got big support from Failenschmid with 5 points while ex easyCredit BBL player Nicolas Bretzel added 4 points. Harris added a floater and Russell a three pointer in the run rout. Kirchheim´s momentum heightened with every new bucket while the arena got quieter except for the little space where the Knights fans watched. Bacak gave Koblenz the lead back and a Smith Jr trey got the arena rocking again as Koblenz led 89-86. But the lead didn´t last long as Harris drained his next clutch three pointer to tie the game at 89-89. Harris then hit a free throw while Morgen got an offensive rebound and dished to Russell for the trey and the 93-90 lead. Bacak kept his nerves and forced overtime with a trey. “My shot felt good at first, but then I felt like it was going to far left, but luckily it went in”, said Marko Bacak. “We did a good job on defense and limiting them to 1 shot. We played free on offense and just made plays”, added Chuck Harris. “We had no structure. Our point guards were out. We didn´t know what to do”, stated Marko Bacak. In the overtime period, the EPG Baskets Koblenz had to play without point guards Wishart and Kovacevic who had fouled out and just couldn´t execute properly. Buck gave Koblenz their last lead of the game 98-96 with an off balance shot, but Kirchheim was ice cold and then closed out the game with 9-0 run. Morgan tied the game with free throws. Bretzel then made a steal which led to his free throws and the 100-98 Kirchheim lead. Niedermanner then missed which led to the Harris clutch trey and 103-98 advantage. “Anyone on the team can be top scorer each night. Tonight it was my turn. Guys kept me being positive and telling me to remain aggressive”, stated Chuck Harris. Harris and Morgan closed out the game with free throws. “We felt the momentum on our side. We dug in deep and didn´t want to lose”, said Chuck Harris. “They had momentum and smelled the win. We didn´t produce good looks”, said Marko Bacak. The Bozic Estriche Knights Kirchheim were led by Chuck Harris with 33 points and Philip Russell added 18 points while the EPG Baskets Koblenz were led by Calvin Wishart and Garrett Hicks with 14 points a piece. The Bozic Estriche Knights Kirchheim shot 47% from the field and 38% from outside and had 46 rebounds and 11 turnovers while the EPG Baskets Koblenz shot 44% from the field and 35% from outside and had 48 rebounds and 15 turnovers.