TAYLORHOOPS.COM ULM UPDATE
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FANTASTIC FINISH!
ULM EDGES DUSSELDORF TO IMPROVE TO 3-0!
ratiopharm Ulm's Jeff Gibbs scored the game winning basket with 8 seconds to play and the teams defense held on through the final buzzer in a thrilling 72-71 road win over Dusseldorf Giants Saturday night at Burg-Wachter Costello Sportshalle in Dusseldorf Germany. The exciting game featuring two early season unbeaten teams played out as the tale of two halves with Ulm starting strong bursting to a 52-39 halftime lead and Dusseldorf answering with a tremendous second half surge. With 4 minutes remaining the game was tied at 66 and both teams had several opportunities to take the lead but failed to score for two minutes. Dusseldorf took a 71-68 advantage into the last minute of play but a strong Ulm defense, big baskets from Romeo Travis and Jeff Gibbs and a couple fortunate bounces helped Ulm earn the exciting road win. Ulm's All Star Power Forward Jeff Gibbs stuffed the stat sheet scoring 18 points, grabbing 20 rebounds, dishing out 5 assists and registering 3 blocks in a fantastic effort topped off with a fantastic finish!
Ulm's All Star Power Forward Jeff Gibbs stuffed the stat sheet scoring 18 points, grabbing 20 rebounds, dishing out 5 assists and registering 3 blocks in the win.
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ratiopharm Ulm guard Lee Humphrey finishes at the rim Saturday night in Dusseldorf. Lee was a key to Ulm's strong start drilling a perfect 4 of 4 threes in the first half. The former Florida Gator standout finished with 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting with 2 boards and 2 assists.
Excitement was expected as two 2-0 teams tipped off play Saturday night at Burg-Wachter Costello Sporthalle in Dusseldorf. But no one could imagine the changes of momentum and fantastic finish to the Game Day 3 matchup of ratiopharm Ulm and Dusseldorf Giants. Prior to Saturdays game, the home team had won each contest between the two teams over the last 2 years and the results were split 2-2. With both teams confident and feeling good from their 2-0 starts, the game provided plenty of interest for fans.
Ulm's Sean Finn slams over Dusseldorf's Logan Kosmalski in the first half of Saturday nights win. Finn finished with 9 points and 2 boards.
Once action tipped off, ratiopharm Ulm asserted themselves early. Ulm's Jeff Gibbs and Romeo Travis scored inside. Ulm moved to a 14-12 lead 5 minutes into the game. Focused and determined, Ulm made a run to finish the first quarter as Lee Humphrey buried 3 of 3 from beyond the arc and Jeff Gibbs powered his way to make 4 of 5 shots in the paint. Ulm's strong defensive rebounding and 63% floor shooting pushed them to a 31-20 lead after one.
Ulm's Dru Joyce returned to action Saturday night providing outstanding leadership for his team.
Quarter two saw the uptempo action continue. The teams went back and forth with even action in the first few minutes of the second quarter. Ulm led 38-31 with 5 minutes to play in the half. Then, just as in the first quarter, ratiopharm Ulm made another run. Ulm's Sean Finn energized his teammates with a ferocious slam dunk over Dusseldorf's Logan Kosmalski. Humphrey hit another three and Dru Joyce added a three of his own. This time the bench played a major role with Dan Fitzgerald sinking 5 of 6 free throws, Sebastian Betz and Per Gunther burying top of the key threes and Michael Schroeder powering his way to a basket in the paint. At the end of the first half, Fred Peete's pull up jumper at the buzzer gave the Giants life but Ulm held a commanding 52-39 halftime lead.
Ulm's Keith Triplett turned in another outstanding defensive effort in the win. Here, Keith forces Fred Peete into a tough shot in the second half.
Ulm's first half of play was focused and effective. The teams defensive work limited the high scoring Dusseldorf team to 41% from the floor and outrebounded the Giants 19-12. Ulm hit 69% of their shots and thanks to Lee Humphrey's perfect 4 for 4 from three, made 6 of 8 threes in the first twenty minutes.
Ulm's Romeo Travis scores inside early in Saturday nights action. Rome made two clutch plays late for his team with a transition slam pulling Ulm within one (71-70) and blocking a Dusseldorf shot on one of the games critical possessions.
With a 52-39 halftime lead, ratiopharm Ulm felt great about their position and performance. Aiming to improve in several areas on the defensive end, the team emphasized staying focused and playing every possession with the job half done. Ulm coaches also reinforced the fact Dusseldorf was a strong second half team in their first two games so the first few minutes would be key.
Ulm forward Dan Fitzgerald attacks the basket against Dusseldorf's Pete Campbell. Dan was solid for Ulm scoring 5 points with 4 rebounds in the win.
As the third quarter began, ratiopharm Ulm and Dusseldorf exchanged empty possessions and turnovers. Both teams missed layups and made bad passes. Finally, 2 minutes into the second half, an Ulm timeout attempted to alert the team that every possession was important and none could be taken off. Slowly but surely, the Giants worked their way back. Ulm's 13 point halftime lead was trimmed to 11 (59-48) at the halfway point of the third quarter. The energy of Giants momentum continued to swell as Dusseldorf finished the third quarter strong cutting Ulm's lead to 64-60 heading into the fourth.
ratiopharm Ulm point guard Per Gunther attacks the gap in the Dusseldorf defense. Per scored 6 points in a strong effort in the win.
The offensive flowing game suddenly turned defensive in the first few minutes of the fourth quarter. Ulm's offense stalled suffering several turnovers and missed shots. Meanwhile, Dusseldorf also struggled to capitalize against a competitive Ulm defense. Key to Ulm's defensive effort was the terrific work of Keith Triplett who grabbed 5 key rebounds and picked up 2 clutch steals including a crafty one-man-press steal in the clutch. Dusseldorf trailed 64-62 with five minutes remaining and momentarily tied the action at 64. Scoreless for 6 minutes, Ulm's Jeff Gibbs finally broke the slump giving Ulm a 66-64 lead. The action and drama continued to build. Dussledorf's momentum carried them into the lead when a Matt Lottich three gave the Giants a 69-68 advantage with two minutes to play. At the opposite end, Jeff Gibbs was called for an offensive foul charging on his way to the basket. Dusseldorf extended their lead to 71-68 and put themselves in a position to win.
Ulm center Michael Schroder drop steps to the basket for two points Saturday night in Dusseldorf.
With Dusseldorf holding that 71-68 lead into the final minute, Ulm turned a defensive stop into a Romeo Travis transition slam with 35 seconds to play. After a time out for both teams, Romeo sent a Dusseldorf shot into the baseline seats with 8 seconds remaining on the shot clock. Digging in, the Ulm team defense recorded a second stop giving them the ball with 18 seconds to play. Playing intelligent time/score situations, Dusseldorf recognized they had only 1 team foul in the fourth quarter and attempted to use their 3 fouls to give. Point guard Gordon Geib fouled Ulm's Dru Joyce at halfcourt forcing a sideline inbound. Geib fouled Joyce again with 12 seconds to play giving Ulm an endline inbound situation. Executing their late game endline play, Ulm's Joyce found Keith Triplett who slipped a pass to Jeff Gibbs near the right block along the baseline. The Ulm all star power forward attacked the rim finishing strong through contact to give ratiopharm Ulm a 72-71 lead with 8 seconds to play.
Ulm immediately called timeout. With an athletic defensive lineup on the floor, the team huddled to discuss their game plan for the final possession. Suddenly, an official informed the Ulm bench that the clock could not be reset to 8 seconds as it showed 6.5 seconds. The technical commissioner and scorers table solution was to count the 1.5 seconds before starting the clock. Back on the court, Dusseldorf set up for their final possession inbounding the ball from the midcourt line. As the play began, Brendan Winters cut to the top for the basketball. Logan Kosmalski darted toward him from the left block and set a top of the key ballscreen. Ulm defenders switched. Winters drove strong against Jeff Gibbs who swiped at the crossover but missed. Ulm's Romeo Travis rotated over to help Gibbs. Winters' game winning attempt rimmed out. A scramble for the offensive rebound poked the ball toward the top of the key where TJ Carter ran it down. In a race against the clock, Carter hoisted an 18 foot jumper. His shot bounded hard off the rim to the right. Players from both teams scrambled for the loose ball and seconds later the horn sounded ending the game. Ulm had held on for an exciting 72-71 win in a fantastic finish that took some strong defense, clutch baskets and a bounce or two that went their way.
Ulm's Sebastian Betz buries this top of the key three in the first half against Dusseldorf.
In the win, Ulm shot 46% from the floor, 7 of 17 from three (41%) and 17 of 27 from the foul line (63%). Ulm outrebounded Dusseldorf 40-35 but suffered 21 turnovers. The Giants hit 33% from the floor, 7 of 23 from three (30%) and a sizzling 22 of 25 from the foul line (88%).
ratiopharm Ulm defense closes in to stop Dusseldorf star Brendan Winters on the games final possession Saturday night. Winters' shot rimmed out and a second attempt from TJ Carter also missed giving Ulm an exciting 72-71 road win.
Jeff Gibbs played one of his best games in a ratiopharm Ulm uniform with a memorable stat-sheet stuffing performance producing 18 points 20 rebounds 5 assists and 3 blocks in the win. Lee Humphrey drilled 6 of 9 shots and 5 threes on his way to 17 points and Sean Finn added 9 points 2 boards. Brant Bailey scored 13 points with 9 rebounds for Dusseldorf and Fred Peete also hit for 13 points in the tight loss.
ratiopharm Ulm salutes their fans and celebrates the road win!
At 3-0, Ulm looks ahead to their next game Saturday night October 11th back home at Sportszentrum Kuhberg against the excellent Deutsche Bank Skyliners. More than ratiopharm Ulm returns home next weekend as former Ulm All Star forward Konrad Wysocki returns to Kuhberg with his new team from Frankfurt. Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm Bundesliga Basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com!
GO ULM!
MIKE T
