TAYLORHOOPS.COM ULM UPDATE
79 
67
Another Level ---Bamberg Beats Ulm!
brose Baskets Bamberg recently reloaded their roster and revamped their rotation with a Bundesliga championship run in mind. Saturday night at JAKO Arena, Bamberg demonstrated their potential with a strong 79-67 victory over ratiopharm Ulm. Opening up a large lead in the first half thanks to outstanding team defense, Bamberg's Casey Jacobsen sparked a decisive run in the third quarter to keep an Ulm effort at bay. C Bryan Lucas scored 19 points with 5 rebounds and Captain Emeka Erege added 11 points for Ulm. Within the loss, ratiopharm Ulm has much to learn from as they aim for continued growth and development. Saturday night, brose Baskets Bamberg showed ratiopharm Ulm another level.
Ulm's Emeka Erege finishes this first half "and one" three point play against Bamberg.
click here for ITV Bamberg video game report
click here for Ulm v Bamberg Box Score
Saturday night in Bamberg, the young ratiopharm Ulm team saw another level. Before a sold out JAKO Arena crowd of over 6,800 fans, brose Baskets Bamberg performed on a championship level which ALBA Berlin, Rheinenergie Koln and possibly one or two other teams can possibly reach. Suffocating team defense combined with precision team offense topped off with individual brilliance, Saturday night Bamberg Head Coach Dirk Bauermann could take pride in a fine team peformance which demonstrated championship potential. For ratiopharm Ulm, Saturday's experience can be just as important as the result.
Jonathan Levy competed hard for ratiopharm Ulm, here scoring against Bamberg's former NBA wing Casey Jacobsen.
Ulm entered the hostile JAKO Arena with confidence from their seasons development and without pressure as all expectations pointed to a big Bamberg win. After all, Bamberg had beaten their last three Bundesliga opponents by a minimum of 24 points.
From the center jump, events went according to plan. Stefan Hamaan directed the Bamberg attack which executed like clockwork. The opening possession evolved into ballscreen which saw F Kezell Wesson "slip", draw a rotation, then zip a pass to Darren Fenn into the paint --- two nothing Bamberg. The JAKO Arena crowd, arguably the loudest in the league, provided an environment which teams must adjust to. Ulm's execution was solid in the early going as Emeka Erege, Bryan Lucas and Jonathan Levy triggered the attack. Bamberg's class and talent immediately showed through. Hamann's fast penetration. Active cutting and shooting from wings Casey Jacobsen and Vincent Yarbrough. Powerful post work from Wesson and the terrific inside-outside ability of Fenn. Ulm's team competed and recorded stops, but also found difficulty in scoring. As talented as Bamberg is on offense, their team defensive pressure, rotations and teamwork may be even more impressive. Soon, Ulm's attack suffered from a string of missed shots or turnovers. Like predators pouncing on prey, Bamberg capitalized like lightning with several runout fast break situations. Hamann and Jacobsen finished runout layups bringing the crowd into the game. Hoping to stem the tide, an Ulm timeout stopped the action at 13-8 for Bamberg. Too perimeter oriented on the offensive end, Ulm's execution was not sharp enough to beat the solid Bamberg defense. Without establishing the paint, Ulm's shot selection came from outside. When the shots stopped falling, Ulm began falling behind. The experienced Bamberg team received big plays. At the end of quarter number one, Bamberg held a 22-14 lead.
Bryan Lucas was excellent for Ulm scoring 19 points with 5 rebounds. Here, Bryan battles Bamberg's Kezell Wesson for a rebound.
If the first quarter was mostly Bamberg, the second quarter was all Bamberg. Again, the Bamberg team defense was key. Pressuring and playing physical, Ulm responded with drives into traffic and one on one attempts to draw fouls. The forced plays came up empty. Instantly, Bamberg converted these opportunities to transition. Even when Ulm attempted to establish the post, phsyical low post defense from Fenn, Wesson and Ensminger prevented baskets. Without scoring, Ulm's defense was under heavy pressure to get stops. Unfortunately, seven offensive rebounds in the first half helped give Bamberg second or third chances to build their lead. Foul trouble also impacted the Ulm effort as key players Jeff Gibbs and Austen Rowland were saddled with two personal fouls midway through the second. Needing the bench to step up for minutes, Ulm hoped to play physically in the paint and continue to execute. Bryan Lucas sparked the team a bit with a baseline jumpshot and free throws. But with several poor shots and soft post play the Ulm offense sputtered. Bamberg broke the game open with a 20-12 second quarter. It was not until Ian Young's halftime buzzer beating three pointer that Ulm hit a shot. Bamberg clearly controlled the first half of play and took a 42-26 lead into the halftime lockerroom.
Florian Mobius was an important part of Ulm's comeback in the second half!
After a halftime discussion about attention to details and the finer points of the Ulm attack, the team returned to the floor determined to perform. Following a strong defensive stop, C Bryan Lucas set the tone immediately by sinking a left wing three. More hardwork on defense paid off and Ulm began to slice the lead possession by possession. Trimming the deficit to 11, it was former NBA wing Casey Jacobsen working one on one against an intense Jonathan Levy. Despite outstanding defense, Jacobsen buried a tough, stepback-hand in your face right wing three. On the next possession, Jacoben ran off two baseline screens to the left wing. Again, over challenging D, Jacobsen sank his second thunderbolt three. The energy in JAKO Arena immediately went through the roof and Bamberg re-established their large lead. Remaining determined, the hardworking Ulm team continued their comeback effort. This time, Ulm's all German lineup answered the call. Winning a battle within the war, Ulm outscored Bamberg 18-17 in the third. After three, Bamberg held a 59-44 lead.
Christian Grosse buries this three as Sean Dockery tries to recover.
A Jan Sprunken three pointer was followed by a Christian Grosse three pointer. Maksym Shtein finished a swooping post move from the left block into the lane. With excellent teamwork, the German Five brought Ulm back into the game. The minutes were outstanding from a team standpoint and provided the chance to rest starters for one final run. But every time Ulm got close, Bamberg had an answer. Jonathan Levy returned to finished a post up three point play. With 5 minutes remaining int he game, Ulm trailing by 11, 66-55, Bamberg called timeout to refocus their team. Foul trouble then began to strike for both teams. While Darren Fenn eventually fouled out for Bamberg, Ulm PG Austen Rowland was whistled for his fifth foul soon to be followed by Konrad Wysocki. Ulm all star power forward demonstrated his talent and versatility down the stretch exploiting mismatches and playing point guard for his team. F Florian Mobius finished the scoring for ratiopharm Ulm with a right wing baseline jumper from his "spot". As the buzzer sounded, both teams could take pride in their performance. Bamberg improved to 15-8 with the win and the 6,800 plus JAKO Arena fans celebrated with them. Meanwhile, ratiopharm Ulm gains much from the experience of competing against a higher level.
Jeff Gibbs was a focal point of the Bamberg defense. Here Tim Begley (31) and Darren Fenn (10) challenge the Ulm all star.
ratiopharm Ulm shot 37% from the floor (23-62), 26% from three (5-19) and 64% from the foul line (16-25) while Bamberg sank 44% (24-54), also made (5 of 19) 26% from three and 67% from the foul line 26-39. The free throw disparity was a clear factor in the result, but also resulted from Bamberg's strong play in the paint. Ulm did outrebound Bamberg 39-38. C Bryan Lucas topscored for ratiopharm Ulm with 19 points 5rebounds. Captain Emeka Erege also reached double figures scoring 11 points with 4 rebounds. Jonathan Levy and Jeff Gibbs produced 9 points and 6 rebounds apiece. For Bamberg, Casey Jacobsen led the way with 21 points 4 rebounds on 7 of 11 shooting (3 for 5 from three). C Darren Fenn added 13 points and post man Chris Ensminger chipped in 11 points 9 rebounds. Taking pride in their effort and learning from their performance, in Bamberg, ratiopharm Ulm saw another level.
Over 200 faithful Ulm fans traveled to Bamberg and made their presence felt with loud support and excellent energy!
Now 11-13, ratiopharm Ulm takes valuable experience from Saturday nights loss in Bamberg and refocuses for an exciting home and home series with rival EnBW Ludwigsburg. Saturday night at Sportszentrum Kuhberg, Ulm hosts Ludwigsburg for a regular season Bundesliga game before the two teams meet Wednesday March 21st at Rundesporthalle in Ludwigsburg for a German Cup Elite 8 clash!
Follow all the fastbreaking ratiopharm Ulm Bundesliga basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com!
GO ULM!
MIKE T
