Ulm Win Streak Cut in Chemnitz!
ratiopharm Ulm saw their 23 game winning streak cut by an inspired Chemnitz 99ers team in an 85-77 road loss Saturday night at a sold out Richard Hartmannhalle in Chemnitz, Germany. With Ulm leading into the early 3rd quarter, Captain Emeka Erege was forced from the game after splitting open a gash on the back of his head while drawing a charge. Stunned, Ulm surrendered a 13-5 run sparked by outstanding three point shooting from 99er guard Jaivon Harris. Motivated by Erege's bandaged return to action, Ulm sliced into the lead cutting the deficit to 75-73 but a bench technical whistled on Ulm reserve players helped the Niners rebuild their advantage to 8 with just under three minutes to play. Demonstrating a Warrior's heart, Ulm captain Emeka Erege was fantastic Saturday night finishing with 21 points, 9 rebounds, 6 steals and 5 assists --- all team bests despite suffering a cut that required over ten stitches to close. Although Ulm came up short, the team can be proud of their effort best exemplified by their captain's Lion-hearted leadership. Now 23-1, first place ratiopharm Ulm looks to refocus and respond in next Saturday's home game against USC Heidelberg.
Ulm Medical Staff --- Physio Andi Lacher (left), GM Thomas Stoll (white) and video man Nico Keller (right) --- attend to Captain Emeka Erege after the Ulm leader drew a charge only to cut open a gash when his head snapped back hitting the floor. Amazingly, the "Warrior" Erege returned to action scoring 13 points in the last 13 minutes of the game.
photos from Thomas Fritsche
Game 24 Saturday March 18, 2006 7pm
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Adding another exciting chapter to the building east-west rivalry between ratiopharm Ulm and the Chemnitz 99ers, a sold out Richard-HartmannHalle was alive with excitement as first place Ulm visited the third place 99ers Saturday night in Chemnitz.
Early in action, Chemnitz came out hot hitting shots. Niner guard Jaivon Harris buried a deep three that brought the Chemnitz crowd immediately into the game. Meanwhile, Ulm started slowly on both ends of the floor. As action continued, Chemnitz center Avi Kazarnovsky worked hard inside scoring on skillful post moves against rival Ulm man Maksym Shtein. Early Ulm turnovers hampered their flow including several poor passes and soft plays against pressure. 99er energy helped them on the offensive boards as tipped and loose balls found their way to the home team. Harris buried another three ball and Chemnitz held an early 14-10 lead. An Ulm timeout calmed the team down and the league leaders made a few simple adjustments. Out of the timeout, Ulm surged ahead with powerful plays in the paint from forward Jeff Gibbs and solid team defense. The 8-0 run pushed Ulm to a 23-16 lead after one quarter.
Ulm center Maksym Shtein scores inside against Avi Kazarnovsky.
Clearly, ratiopharm Ulm had weathered the early wave of momentum and responded well. Although the team allowed Harris two early threes and gave up several second chance opportunities on the boards, Ulm had found a ryhthm and capitalized on opportunity to take the lead. Throughout a defensive minded second quarter, both teams fought for position and worked hard to get stops. Ulm forward Konrad Wysocki was very active making hustle plays for his team and drawing fouls. Teammate Florian Mobius subbed in and scored five quick points on a finish in the paint and smooth three from the left wing. For Chemnitz, Konrad Tota helped his team keep pace sinking a buzzer beating three ball in the face of strong defense from Jan Sprunken. With 5 minutes remaining in the first half, Ulm stretched their lead to 32-24 and maintained their lead asJonathan Levy capped off the first 20 minutes when he finished a transition layup in the final seconds of the half. With a solid start and nice second quarter run, Ulm held a 41-36 halftime lead.
At the break, Ulm felt good about their position and talked through some positives and areas needing improvement for the second half. Of particular interest were the games rebound stats, Ulm's turnovers and Ulm missed free throws. Chemnitz played extremely hard and took down 12 offensive boards in the first half alone. Meanwhile, Ulm focused on taking better care of the ball and capitalizing on their excellent work getting to the foul line. Ready for the second half, Ulm returned to the floor ready for the challenge.
ALL OUT!
Ulm players gave great effort in Chemnitz.
Early in the third, as teams exchanged baskets, Ulm captain Emeka Erege demonstrated his commitment to teammates by doing the dirty work. Leading by example, Erege stepped in to draw a charge as Jaivon Harris sliced to the hoop. As both players tumbled to the floor, the impact caused Emeka's head to snap back and crack on the floor. While the referee whistled charge and Harris piled off, Erege reached for his head. Suddenly, blood pooled on the floor under the Ulm captain and team medical staff rushed to his attention. Concerned for the heavy bleeding and possible concussion, Ulm GM Thomas Stoll and team physio Andi Lacher treated Emeka immediately and escorted him to the lockerroom. As Chemnitz game staff cleaned up the blood on the floor just inside the right corner three point line, Ulm huddled to handle the stunning situation.
Subbing in veteran wing Jan Sprunken, Ulm attacked but came up empty. Niner forward Carl Mbassa posted Sprunken strong and scored inside helping his team build momentum. Harris snuck free for another three adding to the home crowd frenzy. Eventually, after another Harris banked in three from the right wing, Ulm called for time to stop the run. The 13-5 99er run pushed Chemnitz ahead. Riding the wave of momentum and taking advantage of Ulm's adversity, the Niners burst to a 31-19 third quarter and took a 67-60 lead into the final ten minutes.
As Ulm huddled between quarters looking to rally, the team did not need to look any further than captain Emeka Erege. Demonstrating amazing will and showing a Lion's Heart, Emeka returned to the game with an inspiring effort that was truly remarkable. Ulm's captain wore a white bandage covering a 10cm 10-stitch basketball battle scar but would not be denied in his driven performance. Over the games final 13 minutes, after his return, Erege scored a clutch 13 points down the stretch making big basket after big basket and big play after big play. Emeka played with a special determination unique to a Warrior's heart.
Surging back, Ulm reduced the deficit. A bench technical on Chemnitz players for supposed over excitement sent Ulm point guard Christian Grosse to the foul line where he sank one of two. Ulm's Jeff Gibbs finished with a dunk and worked one on one from the perimeter and in the post. Ulm stormed back but still suffered several missed opportunities including a 24 second shot clock violation, an 8 second backcourt call and unfortunate missed free throws. Despite the empty possessions, Ulm continued to fight. Soon, the game was back to one possession with the Niners leading 72-69. As with earlier in the game, Ulm defenders suffered a game plan mental mistake allowing Jaivon Harris an open look. The smooth lefty from Ohio U made Ulm pay drilling his 6th three in 7 tries on the evening. Chemnitz crowd went crazy as the 99ers led 75-69. Ulm pulled closer once again as Jeff Gibbs and Emeka Erege scored big baskets. With 3 minutes remaining, it was anybody's ball game as Chemnitz led 75-73.
As action continued, Ulm defense stiffened and the shot clock ticked down on the 99ers. Moving the ball, Chemnitz put the ball inside just beyond the reach of rotating Ulm guard Jonathan Levy. A whistle stopped play as the baseline official called Levy for a foul. Clearly a foul, the referee moved toward the scorers table to report the play. Suddenly, his partner turned toward the Ulm bench and signaled a technical foul. Like the earlier call against Chemnitz, the T was for bench players over excitement. A tough whistle at a tough time, the technical plus the original foul gave Chemnitz 4 free throws plus the ball. When the 99ers capitalized on the situation, the 2 point game turned into an 8 point game with 2:57 to play. Ulm worked relentlessly over the last minutes. Trapping off an endline inbound situation, Ulm defense forced an errand pass and turnover. Unfortunately, as Maksym Shtein slipped a ball screen with an open lane to the hoop, Levy's zip pass was too hard to handle and bounced out of bounds. Ulm defense tried for steals and then began to foul to send the 99ers to the line where Chemnitz closed out the win 85-77. For Ulm stats tell a significant part of the story. Chemnitz outrebounded Ulm 34-30 and took in 15 offensive boards (12 from the first half). The 99ers hit 9 of 16 threes (56%) including Jaivon Harris' sizzling 6 for 7 night. On the other end, Ulm hit only 3 of 15 threes (20%) and made 18 of 32 free throws (56%). Four Ulm players reached double figures in scoring paced by Erege's tremendous game with 21 points and followed by Jonathan Levy and Jeff Gibbs who added 14 points apiece. Center Maksym Shtein chipped in 12 points on the night. Chemnitz wing Jaivon Harris led all scorers with 22 points and point guard David Doubley added 16 and 6 assists. Niners big men Avi Kazarnovsky (14 points 10 boards) and Mirko Virijevic (14 points 8 boards) were effective inside.
An Ulm late game timeout sets strategy against Chemnitz.
Immediately after the game, Emeka Erege was taken to the Chemnitz hospital for stitches and a head examination which included a CT scan and observation from several doctors. The Ulm captain's availability for Saturday's home game against Heidelberg remains unknown. Ulm team Doctors will monitor the captain throughout the week.
With 6 games remaining, 23-1 ratiopharm Ulm remains in first place two games ahead of second place Jena (21-3) and 4 games ahead of 3rd place Chemnitz (19-5). Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com
GO ULM!
MIKE T
