TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS!
Ulm Overpowers Ehingen 99-72!
It was a close game for one quarter. Tied 25-25 after ten minutes, ratiopharm went to work in quarter two against local rival erdgas Ehingen Steeples and not surprisingly it was veteran Jan Sprunken who made the difference. Sprunken, the 6'4 shooter, has been there and done that. Sunday afternoon, quarter two belonged to Jan "The Gun" as he drilled momentum building and game changing threes in the midst of an Ulm second quarter run that built a double digit lead before half. While quarter two belonged to Sprunken, ratiopharm Ulm's 99-72 road win belonged to power forward Jeff Gibbs who owned his old team with a dominating 24 point 12 rebound effort in leading Ulm's charge to 23-0. An outstanding Ulm defensive effort limited the talented young Steeple backcourt to 3-18 three point shooting, outrebounded Ehingen 43-32 and held the Steeples to 41% shooting for the game. Now 23-0, ratiopharm Ulm prepares for a challenging road trip to eastern Germany and the 18-5 Chemnitz 99ers. An exciting game set for 7pm Saturday night in C-town, an expected sell-out crowd and MDR television broadcast assures another matchup with big buildup. Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com
MY HOUSE!
Ulm's Jeff Gibbs splits between Ehingen's Adam Walseskowski (left) and Marques Lewis (right). Gibbs returned to his old stomping grounds with a powerful 24 point 12 rebound effort in Ulm's 99-72 win Sunday evening.
Sunday March 12, 2006 6pm
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With pre-game build-up of a rivalry, Ulm and Ehingen fans waited outside the Langenfeldhalle gym in Ehingen anxious for the action. Entertaining pre-game activities added to the environment including special t-shirts, cartoons, banners and signs as both rivals exchanged "shots" before their teams exchanged jump shots. As warm-up time ticked down, energy levels picked up. Clearly both teams were ready.
ABOVE THE RIM!
Ulm's Jonathan Levy finishes this 2 on 1 with AUTHORITY! Levy played tremendous team basketball scoring 15 points, dishing out a game best 7 assists and locking down on D.
Setting their mindset to Sun Tzu's "Art of War" in pre-game, ratiopharm Ulm prepared well during the week and concentrated on their solid game plan. After all, Ulm had seen big build up around their games before beating Chemnitz and Jena in heavily anticipated matchups this season. Although Ehingen had won 4 staight games, the Steeples had not experienced a game with such build up before it. Once the wave of emotional energy passed, Ulm was confident their game plan and teamwork would surface as keys to victory.
From the tip, the young and aggressive Ehingen team attacked hard. Physical defense, driving offense and emotional energy powered the home team to a strong start. Opening in man to man defense, Ulm worked hard to stop Steeple set plays and contain their young guards off the dribble. Meanwhile, Ehingen switched between man to man and a 3-2 zone, playing majority in their zone to start. Ulm point guard Martin Thuesen was excellent in denying and pressuring ALBA Berlin bound Steeple PG Nicolai Simon in the early going. Thuesen worked to deny Simon on the inbound and when he could not deny, Ulm's Danish Dynamite did a super job of slowing down the talented young playmaker. Unfortunately, defending an early endline inbound play, Ehingen big man Adam Waleskowski hammered Thuesen's thigh on a screen giving Martin a painful Charley Horse bruise. Hobbled, the Ulm guard subbed out for sideline treatment. Former Steeple Christian Grosse was chomping at the bit for action. The Thuesen injury inserted Grosse minutes into the game.
DETERMINATION!
Ulm Captain Emeka Erege drives hard against Ehingen defender Nicolai Simon in the second half. Erege set the tone for his teammates with a strong start and finished with 14 points 5 boards on the night.
Ehingen attacked in transition and benefited from several early whistles. Three point play opportunities including a circus scoop shot from a driving Felix Czerny ignited the home crowd as the Steeples raced to an early 14-8 lead. Ulm's ball movement was somewhat slow against the Steeple zone, but aggressive rebounding and inside play from Jeff Gibbs powered Ulm early. Ulm captain Emeka Erege set the tone for his team early with active play making 3 of 3 shots inside while sinking an early three from the right corner. Of course, in an emotional, rivalry game, tensions could possibly flare up. Officials, looking to control the action, assessed Ehingen center Marques Lewis with his first flagrant foul midway through the first quarter after he was tangled up with Ulm center Maksym Shtein. Unfortunately, like most of the team most of the evening, Shtein failed to convert both ends of his fouls shots. As strong as the Ehingen start was, Ulm's depth became a factor when forward Konrad Wysocki and wing Jan Sprunken entered the lineup. As expected, Wysocki's appearance attracted attention. The former Ehingen forward who left their team at Christmas Break by exercising an "out" from his contract, checked in for ratiopharm Ulm and immediately the Ehingen crowd held up hundreds and hundreds of "red cards" as in soccer signifying their displeasure with the situation. Wysocki also had the attention of officials as he was called for two fast fouls defensively. Despite the early rush of Ehingen energy, Ulm maintained their composure and improved their zone attack. By the end of the first quarter, the two teams exchanged leads and basket for basket they flip flopped. Finally, at the first quarter buzzer, Ulm and Ehingen were exactly where they started tied at 25.
In the huddle between quarters, Ulm reinforced the teams transition defense and stayed extremely positive about their complete defensive play. Offensively, the team adjusted their zone attack slightly. Finally, the team felt good about the fact that they withstood the early emotional energy from Ehingen and stood confident their adjustments and depth would make the difference.
As the second quarter started, adjustments and depth would be meaningful, but it was Jan Sprunken who would make the difference. Almost out of no where, the experienced wing caught fire drilling momentum building three point shots that inspired his team. Early in Quarter two, behind a transition, Shtein and Lewis were tangled up again --- this time, Lewis threw an elbow at Shtein earning him his second flagrant foul of the game and immediate ejection. Facing depth problems before their center got kicked out, Ehingen faced 2 and one half quarters with a young, thin bench. Defensively, Ulm picked up their play and registered important stops by finishing possessions with rebounds and creating steals from pressure. Jonathan Levy poked loose a steal, fired a breakout pass to forward Konrad Wysocki, filled the lane for a 2 on 1 and finished a powerful alley oop lob jam that sent the packed Ulm fan section into a frenzy. After another strong defensive rebound from Jeff Gibbs, Jan Sprunken popped free to the top of the key and sent another three straight to China. Ehingen coach Ralph Junge had used his two timeouts earlier in the first half so the Ulm run went un-interrupted. The 30-19 second quarter Ulm performance earned them a 55-44 advantage heading into the half.
SHOOTER!
Jan Sprunken surveys the floor in the second half. The Ulm wing sank 3 big three pointers in Ulm's game breaking second quarter run.
In the halftime lockerroom, ratiopharm Ulm focused on seizing their opportunity to capture win number 23. With the job half done, the team turned their attention to several points of play. Up by 11, Ulm had hit 7 of 16 threes in the first half with Sprunken sinking 3 big treys. Ulm had outrebounded Ehingen 21-16 and limited the Steeples to 1 for 8 from three. Ulm's Jeff Gibbs led all scorers at the half with 13 points 6 rebounds while Emeka Erege and Jonathan Levy added 10 points apiece. Felix Czerny sparked the Steeples with 12 points while Asam Waleskowski added 11. Maybe most important, Ulm survived the first half foul count of 14 for Ulm to 9 for Ehingen. Discussing their zone attack, transition defense and maintaining their composure, Ulm looked to take their game to another level coming out of the break.
Immediately, Ulm extended their lead. In the 20-11 third quarter, Ulm changed defenses effectively and took advantage of the limited Ehingen depth. Young players Fabian Boeke and Patrick Horstmann played major minutes in the post against Ulm big men. Playing aggressive basketball, pounding the ball inside or attacking with drives, Ulm began to benefit from the whistles. Unfortunately, the team could not help themselves when they reached the foul line. For the game, Ulm hit 13 fo 29 from the foul line for 45%, a figure significantly below their 57% from the floor for the game. At one point, boardering on a twenty point lead, Ulm players missed 5 straight free throws before breaking the string.
CENTER OF ATTENTION
Ulm forward Konrad Wysocki attacks former teammate Fabian Boeke in Sunday evenings action. All eyes were on Wysocki after his mid-season transfer between the two neighboring teams.
As the game flowed on, Ulm's zone defense continued to limit the Steeple three point looks. Late in the third, Ehingen's Lucca Staigger buried a shot clock beating three from the left wing and in the fourth Nicolai Simon sank his second three ball of the game. After shooting 1-8 from three in the first half, Ehingen followed it up with a 2 for 10 second half performance. Meanwhile, Ehingen changed to man to man defense in the third and Ulm began to monotonously break down the Steeple D. Running the same play over and over then switching to another play to run over and over, Ulm simply controlled the action. Posting up Jonathan Levy 4 straight plays, the Ulm power guard drew a double team and passed out of the post setting up teammates. First, Levy hit Mobius at the top of the key for three. Next, Levy hit Mobius at the top of the key who reversed the ball to Jeff Gibbs on the left wing --- Gibbs buried a three. Finally, putting Levy in ballscreen at the top, the Ulm guard penetrated and kicked to hot shooting Jan Sprunken who smoothly drilled his 4th three of the game. Like clockwork, Ulm widened the gap before subbing in young players Antonis Sivorotka, Marcel Freide and Sebastian Geserick late in the game.
When the final buzzer sounded on the 99-72 win, Ulm players and staff enjoyed the moment together. After their midcourt talk, the Ulm team charged up into the stands to celebrate the win with fans. Likely the last Ulm-Ehingen game for the forseeable future, there was not a better way to capture the moment than having fun in the bleachers. Truly it was an important moment for Ulm fans.
It was an important game for several Ulm players too. Jeff Gibbs was the best player on the floor giving his former team a game best 24 points 12 rebounds. Konrad Wysocki played effectively through foul trouble to score 8 points with 3 rebounds but was extremely good in the second half attacking Ehingen and drawing fouls. Finally, Christian Grosse also played well against his former team manning the point for the majority of action after Martin Thuesen was sidelined with a leg bruise. Not only did the former Steeple players do work, Ulm captain Emeka Erege was outstanding as a leader and also scoring 14 points with 5 boards. Ulm power guard Jonathan Levy also played excellent team basketball scoring 15 points and distributing a game best 7 assists. Ulm's Jan Sprunken finished with 12 points on 4-6 three point marksmanship and Maksym Shtein added 12 points 6 rebounds to his teams win. Adam Waleskowski's 17 point 10 rebound double double was best for the losing Steeples while Felix Czerny (16 points) and Nicolai Simon (13 points) reached double figures.
Ulm hit 57% from the floor (38-67), 38% from three (10-26) and 45% from the foul line (13-29). As a team, Ulm dished out 23 assists while suffering only 14 turnovers. Ehingen hit 26 for 64 (41%) from the floor, 3-18 (17%) from three and 17-25 from the foul line for 68%.
SPASS!
Now 23-0, ratiopharm Ulm prepares for a challenging road trip to eastern Germany and the 18-5 Chemnitz 99ers. An exciting game set for 7pm Saturday night in C-town, an expected sell-out crowd and MDR television broadcast assures another matchup with big buildup. Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com
GO ULM!
MIKE T
