Equal with title-favourits Rolling Devils
A very strong performance by RSV Lahn-Dill is in the end not rewarded. Wetzlar’s second team have lost their five-point-lead in the last couple of minutes of the top-game in the 2nd Bundesliga South, losing to 1. FCK Rolling Devils 64:65 (19:17/40:34/52:48).
„The result is painful, most of all when you look at the whole of the game.” RSV-coach Daniel Stange is grieving for the missed chance on a big surprise. “But I’m nevertheless very proud of our performance today.”
Of all players it was former RSV-player Mark Beissert, who turned the game around for his team with a three in the last couple of minutes. Up until then the Rolling Devils had only been leading in the first phase of the game and gone via 6:7 (3rd min) and 13:17 (8th min), before RSV II started their best effort of the season so far. The team got hold of the lead following a three by captain David Amend (20:17, 19th min) and even managed to get a bit of a distance up to 29:22 (16th min). A three and a three-point-play by Beissert melted that distance again though (34:32, 19th min).
The Rolling Devils did guard David Amend, who so far had been RSV’s best shooter with 23 points, a lot more consequently after change-over, so that he wasn’t able to unfold his potential anymore. But an early fourth foul for Kaiserslautern’s top-scorer Beissert (21st min) put his team into a tight spot, and it seemed like RSV were on the path to success after he was subbed out. Centre Felix Schell almost had free range and increased the lead again to 46:38 three minutes later.
The Rolling devils then fought bitterly for their points, whilst the Middle Hesse team put themselves into great shooting positions, but missed a lot of chances in the closing stages. Kaiserslautern had nearly closed the gap at 54:53 (32nd min) thanks to Spitznagel, and now put RSV under a lot of pressure. Until the 63:59 (37th min) by Felix Schell it seemed like the hosting team might be able to hold against their opposition, but then the tables turned for the Wetzlar team. First Sebastian Spitznagel hit the basket out of six metres and a difficult position under pressure, before Beissert added from the distance, leading to 63:64 (39th min). Felix Schell then only hit one out of two free-throws, and the tied score was then changed again after a made free-throw by Markus Gmeinwieser leaving the final score at 64:65, as RSV could not make use of the remaining 12 seconds.
Lahn-Dill: David Amend (27/1 Dreier), Felix Schell (20), Christoper Huber (7), Kai Gerlach (6), Annabel Breuer (4), Carsten Crombach, Zacharias Wittmann, Barbara Groß (n.e.).
Kaiserslautern: Mark Beissert (17/2 Dreier), Matthias Heimbach (14), Sebastian Spitznagel (11), Pieter Dries (10), Sascha Gergele (6), Paul Nikolaus (4), Juliana Kromberg (2), Markus Gmeinwieser (1), Heiko Lips.