After the brutal 114-72 loss in Essen, the Dragons Rhondorf were happy to be returning home into their living room where they were still undefeated this season. Essen is a great team and destroyed Rhondorf on the boards and the Dragons were unable to put up decent shooting percentages. Now they were back home again and had an interesting test with the BSW Sixers who began the season 0-2 and now were riding a 2 game winning streak. They are a team with 2 talented Americans with Toby Okwuokei and Robert Holmes and bigs that can rebound the ball well. The Sixers also had improved their defense in the last 2 games allowing 87 points on average in the first 2 games and only 73 points in the last 2 games. The Dragons Rhondorf had to be wide awake to keep their winning streak alive and were as they had to go 45 minutes to win their third game of the season in OT 105-97. It was a game of runs, missed free throws, aggressive defense, acrobatic plays, big shots and a buzzer beater, but in the end, it was the Dragons Rhondorf that had the better nerves in OT especially from the free throw line grinding out the win. “This was a great game. The fans gave us so much energy. It was a long week where we talked a lot about what our identity is. Tonight we showed our identity. We stuck together the whole game. It was a game of runs and 2 big shots at the end of the fourth quarter. But we weathered the storm and pulled out the win”, stressed Dragon Rhondorf guard Juhwan Harris-Dyson (198-SG-1999, college: California). The BSW Sixers had to face so many up hill battles the whole game, but ran out of gas in OT who were carried by their American duo of Toby Okwuokei and RJ Holmes who combined for a massive 61 points, 29 rebounds and 84 minutes. “I´m really proud of the team. We had a slow start, but fought back the whole game. Battling back has been our calling card so far this season. We are a very young team. We have to learn to finish plays”, stressed BSW Sixers guard Toby Okwuokei.

Elia Rosa De Almeida to the rim

The Dragons Rhondorf that had the better first quarter and would power home 25 points. Both teams found their rhythm rapidly as Illinois native rookie Robert Holmes nailed a trey and got a jumper from young German Felix Zacharias while the Dragons Rhondorf got offensive production from the Spanish magician Jorge Mejias and ex Oberaching center Benjamin Sadikovic. However the Dragons Rhondorf then picked up their defensive game getting back to back steals from Swiss army knife Harris-Dyson and Kenan Reinhart that led to easy transition baskets from Harris Dyson and Mejias as Sandersdorf trailed 10-5. 2024 NBBL champion Jarne Jurgens added a thunderous dunk to trail 10-7, but the Dragons had more intensity and were led on a 10-3 run by Harris-Dyson who was a scoring menace scoring 3 times. His third bucket was the prettiest as he was delivered the perfect dime from 16 year old Dusan Ilic for the great alley-op throw down and 20-10 advantage. The Dragons knew that they had to make an impact on the boards and did and just were flying all over on defense. Despite Okwuokei nailing 2 three´s, the Dragons kept the momentum and 25-13 lead after 10 minutes as Reinhart made an acrobatic shot and Sadikovic a lay in. “We knew that we had to have a better start than last week. We put our foot on their throat from the start. We were able to play our game and get out on transition and get easy baskets”, stressed Juhwan Harris-Dyson. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 59% from the field and 0% from outside and had 14 rebounds and 2 turnovers while the BSW Sixers shot 25% from the field and 33% from outside and had 9 rebounds and 2 turnovers.

Juhwan Harris-Dyson at the FT line

In the second quarter the Dragons Rhondorf kept on to the lead, but could never totally shake the BSW Sixers as they led by as much as 14 points, but at the break led only 41-36. Both teams executed well on offense as the Dragons got baskets from Reinhart, and Duje Dujmovic who is still searching for his offense rhythm this season while the guests got a big trey from Okwuokei and coast to coast lay in by Zacharias, but the BSW Sixers couldn´t make any ground as they trailed 32-20. However the BSW Sixers then found some daylight going on a 10-4 run to trail 36-28. In the run, the guests got vital production from their Americans as Okwuokei added 5 points and Holmes nailed his second trey from the corner with the kick out pass from Okwuokei for the second time of the game. The BSW Sixers increased their aggressiveness on defense forcing the Dragons to bad shots and the Sixers took good care of the ball. The game showed again why it is a game of runs as Rhondorf reeled off a rapid 5-0 run to lead 41-28 as Mejias hit a trey and Ilic made a beautiful basket with a spin move, but that didn´t shake the BSW Sixers as they closed out the second quarter with a 8-0 run thanks to 2 technical fouls from the Dragons. In the run, the guests got a lay in by Holmes, free throws by Okwuokei and a lay in by Jurgens. “It was a game of runs and we didn´t shoot the ball well at times. California native Okwuokei was doing a great job getting to the paint. He is a great player. He is really hard to stop. It´s always fun playing against him”, said Juhwan Harris-Dyson. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 43% from the field and 17% from the three point line and had 28 rebounds and 6 turnovers and the BSW Sixers shot 31% from the field and 31% from the three point line and had 23 rebounds and 5 turnovers.

Toby Okwuokei at the FT line

The third quarter was a real battle as the BSW Sixers stole the lead back near the end of the quarter, but a very late run by the Dragons Rhondorf gave them the slim 57-54 advantage after 30 minutes. Kenan Reinhart who has focused on becoming more of a versatile scorer on offense and not just a 3 and D player as he scored on the drive in the first half, but in the first minutes of the third quarter also returned to his bread and butter nailing a trey for the 44-39 lead. However the BSW Sixers continued to fight and execute well on offense getting continued productive help from Okwuokei, but also vital support from role player Zacharias who made a reverse lay up and offensive rebound and put back to tie the game at 48-48. The BSW Sixers seemed to gain some momentum then with 2 big dunks from Holmes and young German Emmanuel Ozike for the 54-51 lead, but the Dragons Rhondorf still had some energy left in the tank and once again made a run of 6-0 to lead 57-54 after 3 quarters. In the run, Rhondorf got free throws from Mejias while Reinhart came up big in the clutch again from downtown while Haris-Dyson made a key offensive rebound and put back. “They put a lot of pressure on us. We missed more shots and missed free throws. We also missed open three´s. Sometimes shots fall and sometimes they don´t. We always focus on our defense first”, stated Juhwon Harris-Dyson. “We pressed very well, went to zone as well. We were more aggressive and were flying around well”, stated Toby Okwuokei. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 40% from the field and 21% from the parking lot and had 37 rebounds and 10 turnovers while the BSW Sixers shot 34% from the field and 29% from the parking lot and had 37 rebounds and 12 turnovers.

Dusan Ilic from outside

The fourth quarter went back and forth with runs, but at the end of 40 minutes, the BSW Sixers had the last laugh forcing overtime. The Dragons Rhondorf began off hot with a 8-2 run to lead 68-59. In the run, Rhondorf got 4 points form Mejias, a trey from Dujmovic and a lay in from Harris-Dyson. Rhondorf was defending aggressively and the BSW Sixers were doing more hero ball than team play. But the BSW Sixers continued to fight and make a 7-1 run led by the tireless Okwuokei who steered home 4 points as his motor was in full throttle. The Dragons Rhondorf held the slim lead, but the BSW Sixers always felt like they could win as they traded 4 lead changes, but at the end of that, the Dragons led 76-75 thanks to a Harris-Dyson lay in. But the BSW Sixers had nerves of steel as RJ Holmes nailed a big trey for the 80-77 lead, but the Dragons would get the lead back at 81-80 with a Mejias bucket and Harris-Dyson free throws. The game seemed decided now after added Reinhart free throws for the 85-81 lead, but Zacharias hit a huge trey from the left corner with 4 seconds to play to trail 85-84. The BSW Sixers then did a great job fouling Ilic right away, but he sunk both free throws for the 87-84 lead. However Okwuokei had one more trick up his sleeve as he hit a trey at the buzzer to dead lock the game at 87-87. “The game was back and forth. We did a good job playing hard and finishing off plays. I was lucky I hit the last shot”, said Toby Okwuokei. “They never gave up. It was a dog fight. They got 2 big shots from Holmes and Okwuokei”, said Juhwan Harris Dyson. The Dragons Rhondorf had the better start in OT and never looked back getting the win. The Dragons Rhondorf started with a lethal 6-0 run to lead 93-87. The BSW Sixers went into OT with the momentum, but the Dragons Rhondorf weren´t timid, but remained aggressive and got 2 back to back and 1 lay in´s by Ilic and Mejias. The Dragons Rhondorf then did a good job managing their lead and just executing consistently when the guests did. The game seemed sealed for the Dragons at the 2,21 minute mark after Mejias hit a pull up jumper for the 97-91 advantage, but the BSW Sixers still had answers as they got 2 stops and trailed only 97-95 at the 1,02 minute mark as Nwokedi made free throws and Okwuokei made a lay in. But the Dragons Rhondorf stayed strong, held their nerves and were a bit fresher having a deeper rotation and closed out the game with a 8-2 run getting to the free throw line and making their shots. Mejias made 4 free throws and Reinhart also made free throws and Harris-Dyson made a tip in to close out the teams third win of the season. “We played fast in OT and exploited their foul trouble. We rotated well on defense and stopped them getting to the paint”, added Juhwan Harris-Dyson. “Their quick start hurt us. We lost a little focus and were unable to stay with them”, added Toby Okwuokei. The Dragons Rhondorf were led by Juhwan Harris Dyson with 24 points, 11 rebounds and 5 steals while Kenan Reinhart added 23 points and 10 rebounds while the BSW Sixers were led by Toby Okwuokei with 36 points and 10 rebounds while Robert Holmes had 25 points and 19 boards. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 44% from the field and 22% from outside and had 54 rebounds and 14 turnovers while the BSW Sixers shot 37% from the field and 32% from outside and had 56 rebounds and 17 turnovers.