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ULM SKELETON CREW OVERCOMES INJURIES AND MERLINS.
Starting the season at 13, moving to 12, then to 11 and down to 9, Ulm's "Incredible Shrinking Roster" has seen enough reduction this year to inspire a reality TV "survivor" series. But amidst the subtraction, one constant remains --- Ulm wins. ratiopharm Ulm's skeleton crew overcame a wave of adversity from a week filled with injuries to claim a routine 94-87 victory over the Crailsheim Merlins Saturday night at Sportszentrum Kuhberg in 2.Bundesliga South basketball action. Locked into second place with two games to play, Ulm captured their 23rd win of the season against Crailsheim while remaining unbeaten at home at 14-0 in Sportszentrum Kuhberg. Despite missing several key players, Ulm offense heated up early cruising to 57 first half points on 57% shooting.
KENNY PRICE DRILLS ONE OF FIVE THREES IN ULM'S WIN Playing without guards Christian Grosse and Peter Heizer sidelined with season-ending injuries, ratiopharm Ulm dressed 8 healthy players and relied on several unique lineups against the Merlins. The shortened bench pressed Ulm bench players Tobi Waitzinger and Benni Gulde into action early in the first half. Both responded with positive contributions on the evening. Early action emphasized offense with easy baskets. Both teams pushed the ball in transition to find little defensive resistance from the opposition. Crailsheim post players Fabian Spindler and Lucian Kieser pounded the offensive boards for points in the paint with strong finishes inside. On the Ulm side, center Maksym Shtein scored on post touches with solid back to the basket moves from the block. Crailsheim successfully broke a half-hearted Ulm full court press moving the basketball quickly by hitting open men over the top of Ulm defenders. Once the ball was advanced, Merlin players attacked the basket creating 3 on 2 or 2 on 1 advantage situations which led to easy scores. Ulm players failed to contain in traps or sprint back on defense --- the lack of extra effort and willingness to defend allowed Crailsheim to keep pace. Ulm players converted transition baskets of their own as Kenny Price and Shaheen Holloway pushed the ball and ran the break. Ulm set plays freed open jumpshooters and Florian Mobius and Kenny Price converted their looks. On the defensive end, mental mistakes plagued Ulm's play. After one quarter, Ulm held a tight 29-27 lead. Between quarters, key adjustments for Ulm included general committment to defending, matching up and containing better in their presses, guarding ballscreens as game planned, emphasizing offensive points in the paint and spacing off post touches. Although the offensive production in the first quarter was excellent, lack of concentration and committment to work on the defensive end resulted in too many easy baskets allowing Crailsheim to keep close. Making a run, improved Ulm defense and rebounding triggered several early second quarter fast breaks. Shaheen Holloway picked up the tempo and created for his teammates in transition or from penetration. Kenny Price drilled a three pointer from the top of the key. Then, Holloway hit Price for another triple. Shtein continued to go to work on Crailsheim inside. Hardworking Fannar Olafsson gave Ulm extra effort on the offensive boards --- one play he overpowered a Merlin for an offensive rebound, re-spaced himself onto the right block and smoothly made a lightning-quick baseline spin for an And 1 three point play. Olafsson, who scored 9 points with a team best 6 rebounds in the first half, was outstanding on the evening increasing his production from the bench when his shorthanded teammates needed him most. Ulm's second quarter spurt captured momentum of the game and control of the action. Kenny Price capped the second quarter milking the clock before burying a buzzer-beating three, his fourth of the first half. The 28-21 second quarter was enough to give Ulm a comfortable 57-48 halftime lead. Pleased with the offensive production --- 57 first half points on 57% shooting --- most of Ulm's halftime talk revolved around their defensive commitment and on-court concentration. Although the first half offensive pace was fast, second half action slowed considerably. Both teams missed open looks and committed unforced turnovers. Ulm kept Crailsheim at bay maintaining a double digit lead most of the third. Kenny Price was in top form handling shooting guard and point guard duties for his team. Fannar Olafsson continued his strong play inside. Midway through the third, Tobi Waitzinger re-entered the game and became an immediate factor. Driving aggressively and attacking the rim, the Ulmer fan favorite did a fantastic job drawing fouls and getting to the foul line for free throws. On the evening, Tobi sank 7 of 8 foul shots as a product of his active play. By the end of three, Ulm remained ahead 74-65.
TOBI WAITZINGER (RIGHT) DRAWS A FOUL ON A BASELINE J Time ticked away in the fourth quarter and both teams continued their pace. Turnovers mounted including several traveling calls on Ulm players and poor passes from Crailsheim. Olafsson scored inside and capped off his excellent evening in style. Playing his last game of the year for Ulm before thumb surgery on Monday, Kenny Price directed the teams attack through the final quarter sealing the win with quality court play. Ulm prospect Benni Gulde checked in to finish the game with a free throw in the final seconds. Unfortunately, Ulm's victorious evening finished off much like the rest of the injury riddled week --- hardworking Tobi Waitzinger collapsed in the last seconds of play with a lower leg injury which could force him to join Sinclair, Grosse, Heizer and Price missing the remainder of the season. Taylorhoops.com Player of the Game Fannar Olafsson inspired his teammates with hustle plays and extra effort off the bench --- Olafsson's productive punch produced 15 points and a team high 12 rebounds in the win. Kenny Price and Maksym Shtein top scored for Ulm with 22 points apiece. Price hit 5 of 10 three point attempts and grabbe 5 rebounds while Shtein grabbed 6 boards of his own along with dishing out an impressive 6 assists. Shaheen Holloway added 9 points with a team best 7 assists while Tobi Waitzinger played his best game of the season finishing with 9 points including hitting 7 of his 8 free throws. Emeka Erege and Florian Mobius scored 8 points apiece. Meanwhile, Lucian Kieser's 20 point 12 rebound double double paced the Merlin attack. Fabian Spindler (14pt 7reb) and Willie Young (12pt) were the only other two Crailsheim players to reach double figures in the game. Ulm shot 49% from the floor in the win, nailed 7 of 18 threes (39%) and hit 23 of 34 (68%) free throws. Crailsheim's hardwork in the paint paid off as the Merlins outrebounded Ulm 37-34 on the evening. Now 23-5, ratiopharm Ulm looks to regroup their injury ravaged roster for the final two weeks of the season. Without Price and Waitzinger, it is likely Ulm will travel to TV Langen for next Saturday's road game with only 6 active players. Ulm meets Langen at 3pm Saturday the 23rd of April and will see a familiar face in the opposing jersey --- Sly McIntosh, former Neu Ulm Outlaw and close friend of Ulm head coach Mike Taylor, has helped Langen stay safe in the second league since signing with the Giraffes at the roster deadline in Febuary. In his 6 games with Langen, McIntosh has averaged 27ppg including 35 point and 34 point outbursts when the Giraffes needed it most. Certainly a special matchup, Saturday afternoon should be challenging in more ways than one. Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com! GO ULM! MIKE T
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