TAYLORHOOPS.COM ULM UPDATE
Ulm Caps Preseason with Solid Road win in Ludwigsburg!!
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ratiopharm Ulm completed a successful preseason with a solid road win over EnBW Ludwigsburg 85-82 at Rundsporthalle in Ludwigsburg Germany Saturday night. Just one week after suffering a 75-66 setback against Ludwigsburg at the Soflingen KUSS game, Ulm bounced back to earn the quality victory over the back-to-back Bundesliga Playoff qualifier with an excellent team performance.
Ulm's Jeff Gibbs (here against Kirchheim), secured the win with a strong rebound and bucket with seconds to play!
In a competitive back and forth first quarter, ratiopharm Ulm edged ahead 22-19. Ulm's offense handled the Ludwigsburg pressure well and big men Jeff Gibbs and Bryan Lucas started strong. The second quarter saw Ulm's bench become a factor as Maksym Shtein, Konrad Wysocki, Jan Sprunken and Christian Grosse made contributions on the floor. Wysocki finished a three point play and Sprunken sank a three ball in a 24-7 Ulm surge that broke the game open. Jonathan Levy buried two threes and Austen Rowland snaked through Ludwigsburg defenders in transition and using ballscreens. Before anyone in the Rundsporthalle could look up, Ulm had opened a 20 point lead 46-26. Ludwigsburg scored in the closing moments of the first half and the teams went to their lockerrooms with Ulm up 46-29. .Opening action of the second half, increased defensive intensity sparked a Ludwigsburg run. Ulm's lead was trimmed to 8 at 61-53 late in the third before Konrad Wysocki free throws and an Austen Rowland three cooled the Ludwigsburg engines. After three quarters, Ulm maintained a 13 point lead at 68-55. During the final quarter, Ludwigsburg's press and zone stymied the Ulm offense while Jerry Green, Nate Harris and Pavel Cukinas led their offensive charge. Green was excellent using ballscreens getting into the paint for his crafty floaters and clever finishes. Harris scored inside and out and Cukinas was extremely effective on the block. In the opening minutes of the 4th quarter, 3 three pointers from Ludwigsburg cut into Ulm's lead and energized the crowd. With the crowd behind them, Ludwigsburg was inspired for a rally. With three minutes remaining, Ludwigsburg had cut the Ulm lead to 6 at 70-64 creating perfect preseason situations for late-game preparation. At 76-73, Jono drilled a clutch three extending the Ulm lead to 6 at 79-73. Four points from Ludwigsburg's Nate Harris pulled the hosts closer. With Ulm holding a slim 81-79 edge, C Bryan Lucas cooly sank two important free throws moving the score to 83-79 with under one minute to play. After a Ludwigburg timeout, small forward Milan Goljovic made a deep-contested-NBA range 3 from the left wing with 13 seconds remaining. The big shot pulled the hosts within one a 83-82. Ulm called their final timeout to advance the ball and set strategy. Not yet in the bonus, Ludwigsburg fouled on three consecutive sideline inbound plays before Ulm would shoot free throws. Solid execution to inbound the ball and be strong through fouls got Ulm to the foul line with a chance to clinch the game. After Jonathan Levy popped open uncontested on the left wing, he held the ball before being fouled at the 6 second mark. Both teams out of timeouts, Levy stepped to the charity stripe with two shots up 1 with 6 seconds to play. Cooly, he clanked the first. Buckling-down, he boinked the second. Thankfully for Ulm, rebound machine Jeff Gibbs had a nose for the basketball and was in the right place at the right time. Gibbs extended over the crowd to collect the loose ball rebound, landed with a wide two foot base under the rim and powered his way back up for a BIG BUCKET in the final seconds. Picking up his teammate, Gibbs' putback basket gave Ulm what they needed an 85-82 lead with 5 seconds on the clock. Ludwigsburg frantically pushed the ball up the court and found Goljovic again, this time in the right corner, but his desperation three bounded hard off the back of the rim and high up in the air wasting the final seconds with its trajectory.
Ulm PG Austen Rowland, shown against Ludwigsburg in the Soflingen KUSS game, made several big plays and ran the team extremely well in Saturday's 85-82 road win.
Jonthan Levy led Ulm scoring with 19 points while Bryan Lucas and Austen Rowland added 17 points apiece. Ludwigsburg scoring was led by big man Pavel Cukinas' game high 23 followed by Jerry Green with 16 and Nate Harris 15.
Ulm's 85-82 road victory over Ludwigsburg was the perfect way to close their preseason. Working together since August 21st, ratiopharm Ulm went 7-4 in preseason games including a solid 3-1 against Bundesliga opponents. While these games do not count for points, for ratiopharm Ulm, these games counted for self-confidence, development and team-building. The challenge of the Bundesliga hits Ulm full steam as their first 4 games of the regular season are against 4 of the top teams in the league: Frankfurt Skyliners, ALBA Berlin, Oldenburg and German Champion/Euroleague team Rheine Energie Koln. These first 4 games will clearly show ratiopharm Ulm where they are at --- the Bundesliga doesnt get any better than these teams! With a strong preseason under their belt, Ulm is up for the challenge!
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GO ULM!
MIKE T
