Basketball men – Dukes defeat St. Pölten with a furious final quarter

The Lower Austria derby between the Dukes from Klosterneuburg and the Wolves from St. Pölten was eagerly awaited. Both teams were in good form in the first few weeks of the season and it was shaping up to be a trend-setting encounter. In the well-filled Dukes Castle, the spectators got their money’s worth. A great encounter was already emerging in the first quarter, both teams acted with their usual high intensity and didn’t give anything away. After several lead changes, the Dukes had a narrow lead at 19:16 after the first period, but Weathers, Burgemeister and Leydolf had already had two fouls.

In the second period there was a bitter setback for the Dukes. Weathers received the third foul and, for a somewhat exaggerated reaction to this whistle, even received a technical and thus the fourth foul. Coach Zeleznik was forced to change the rotation, St. Pölten took advantage of this situation and made it 38:40 by the break. The tough battle of the first half continued after the break. In the last minutes of the quarter, the Dukes were completely out of control, produced unnecessary turnovers and had to watch as St. Pölten pulled away to 58:65.

Weathers turned things around

In the final quarter, Dukes coach Damir Zeleznik threw Michael Weathers into the fray again. He didn’t let his four fouls slow him down and together with Valentin Bauer and Will Carius things were turned around. With an incredible run, supported by three blocks from Weathers, St. Pölten was played against the wall. The hall was boiling and, spurred on by the atmosphere, the Dukes won the final quarter 26:6 and the game 84:71.

Coach Zeleznik was of course thrilled after the encounter: “What a victory! After Michael had already had four fouls in the first half, I had to do some rotations. We fought and looked for a solution against the opponents’ zone for a long time. In the second half we did what we could. Ultimately it was an excellent fight by my players and a deserved victory.”

Will Carius was also euphoric after this spectacular final quarter: “It was a great atmosphere and a tough game. We had some foul trouble, but we fought through some downs and kept it alive with defense and we got there in the end.”