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TEAM PLAY PUSHES ULM PAST BAYREUTH 90-59 Sometimes it takes breaking away from the norm to return things to normal. ratiopharm Ulm broke away from the norm to get back on track Saturday night at Sportszentrum Kuhberg in Ulm Germany. Emphasizing togetherness and team play all week, Ulm head coach Mike Taylor rotated in two teams of five subbing in waves every five minutes early on --- Ulm's "hockey sub" system worked sparking the team into a hot rhythm resulting in a strong performance and a 90-59 win over BBC Bayreuth. Brilliant ball movement, solid screening, excellent transition play and intelligent execution prod uced 25 assists, 53% team field goal percentage and five players in double figures. Shooting guard Kenny Price caught fire on the evening hitting 7 of 12 three point shots on his way to a game high 26 points in the win. Emeka Erege added 13 points along with team bests 8 rebounds and 6 assists while forwards Florian Mobius and Niki Arinze pitched in 12 and 11 points apiece --- Mobius was sharp in the first half posting 10 early points while Arinze played extremely unselfish making excellent passes from the post and setting screens freeing Price and Christian Grosse for open threes. Maksym Shtein was the fifth Ulmer to reach double digits with 10 points. Split into two teams all week for practice, Ulm players focused on top teamwork in small groups of five playing as hard as possible for around five minutes. At that time, a new unit would enter the game with a slightly different plan of attack making Ulm's game plan hard to react against and allowing players to be rested and fresh. Kenny Price, at the foul line, was on fire hitting 7 of 12 threes for a game high 26 points Although the result was clear, the first quarter featured back and forth basketball. Ulm opened an early lead, but transition baskets and dribble penetration brought Bayreuth back. Ulm's first team of five (Bree, Price, Erege, Mobius and Shtein) found their rhythm early behind good ball movement and the transition game. Michael Bree showed signs of returning to his top form with clever passing and finding teammates. Price benefited most spotting up in transition and cutting off screens to get open looks. Entering the game 5-2 and unbeaten on the road (3-0), Bayreuth converted baskets play for play with Ulm and gained confidence. As the first quarter came to a close, Bayreuth's LyRyan Russell sank an energizing three giving the visitors a 21-20 advantage after one period. Between quarters, Ulm discussed solidifying their transition defense, adjusting their fullcourt press slightly and their attention to detail in offensive execution. Immediately, the team picked up their play. Out of the between quarters break, Kenny Price and Michael Bree drilled threes firing up the Ulm crowd as the team took regained the lead. Ulm's tempo control press worked perfectly allowing their zone to become even more effective. Bayreuth struggled to attack the zone all evening eventually ending the night 3 for 17 from three point range. In the game breaking second quarter dry spell, Ulm outscored Bayreuth 27-14 forcing forced shots late in possessions and even earning shot clock violations. On the offensive end, Ulm scored several easy baskets running the fast break and 14 first half assists helped the team get hot from the perimeter hitting 7 of 13 threes. Up 47-35, Ulm was pulling away. Michael Bree , setting up for a ballscreen, sparked Ulm early with quality point guard play Strong team play marked the third quarter with excellent zone defense limiting Bayreuth to 11 points in ten minutes. Meanwhile, Ulm's Florian Mobius sank a wide open 17 foot J to open the scoring. Niki Arinze stepped up get easy baskets from the block with a beautiful fadeaway and with back to back 18 foot jump shots. Emeka Erege excelled on both ends of the floor rebounding, creating and making plays. His third quarter hustle, diving on the floor after a loose ball, set a tremendous example for his teammates. Ulm built the lead to 69-46 entering the fourth quarter of play. Bayreuth's zone attack struggled as their perimeter shooters misfired. Players began forcing drives into traffic resulting in turnovers. Ulm controlled tempo and cruised to a 21-13 final quarter. Excellent team play against Bayreuth allowed Ulm to wash the bad taste of Nurnberg from out of their mouth. Now 7-1 in 2.Bundesliga South play, ratiopharm Ulm looks ahead to a challenging road trip to eastern Germany for Saturday night's matchup with TuS Jena, another strong opponent at 6-2. Bayreuth falls to 5-3 and sets their sights on a big home game against USC Heidelberg. Ulm played without forward Antoine Sinclair, recovering from a midweek knee injury. Medical checks from team doctors reported a knee contortion and slight stretch of Antoine's ligament. He is expected to miss some time, but will return to action before Christmas --- good news for ratiopharm Ulm as the injury could have been much worse. In Saturday's win over Bayreuth, Ulm center Big Mike Niebling also suffered some bumps and bruises. The 7 foot center missed the 2nd quarter with a bruised knee and hip after a collision under the Bayreuth basket. Niebling returned to action in the second half and is expected to be at full strength for next weekends game in Jena. Ulm forward Florian Mobius (14) holds his follow through as his shot hits the bottom of the net Playing in eye-catching orange uniforms for the first time this season, ratiopharm Ulm's team play brightened things up and helped the team get back on track. Sometimes it takes breaking away from the norm to return things to normal --- for Ulm, getting back to team play meant all the difference. Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com! GO ULM! MIKE T
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