Ulm Stays Perfect, Sweeps two game Weekend!
ratiopharm Ulm capped a perfect weekend and remained perfect at 13-0 as a strong start and composed finish led to a tough road win over USC Freiburg 78-70 Sunday afternoon at Sepp-Glasser Halle in Freiburg. Ulm exploded out to a 22-9 first quarter lead and expanded the advantage to 51-32 at the half before a furious Freiburg rally fell short in the second half. Ulm captain Emeka Erege led the way with an excellent 18 point 10 rebound double double for Ulm. Jonathan Levy added 17 points and 6 boards and Maksym Shtein scored 14 points with 5 rebounds. Jeff Gibbs also produced another double double with 13 points 12 boards in the win. Ulm hit 60% of their shots in the first half and hit 46% from beyond the arc in building their 19 point halftime lead. Big baskets in the fourth quarter from Shtein, Levy and a clutch three point play from Gibbs with 50 seconds to play sealed the victory for Ulm.
Emeka Erege was excellent Sunday leading Ulm to the win with a strong 18 point 10 rebound performance.
Determined from the start, Ulm started fast with fullcourt pressure and trapping that caused problems and turnovers for Freiburg. Defensive stops and steals triggered Ulm's transition game and Emeka Erege showed his open court ability finishing a break, feeding a cutter and streaking down the sideline lane. Center Maksym Shtein tipped loose a steal on a soft Freiburg cross court pass and defensive hustle backtipping dribblers forced other turnovers. A beautiful ball ahead pass on the fast break from Martin Thuesen found a streaking Maksym Shtein behind the Freiburg D for an easy two. From the tip, Ulm was hot. Erege, Levy and Martin Thuesen hit perimeter jump shots early on and Ulm burst ahead forcing an early Freiburg timeout. The offensive explosion, featuring excellent transition basketball, demoralized Freiburg who had just been buried by BBC Bayreuth 102-67 Friday evening in 2.Bundesliga play. Ulm's quick start had Freiburg reeling and put them in an excellent position for the afternoon.
Up 22-9 with 3 minutes remaining in the first quarter, Ulm went through their rotation subbing in key bench players Christian Grosse, Florian Mobius and Jan Sprunken in an effort to keep legs fresh following Friday nights intense home win over TV Lich. Ulm's bench players made an immediate impact on the action. Running the floor with desire, Mobius sprinted hard through the heart of the Freiburg defense sharply slicing through the midcourt directly to the rim. Seeing his lanky teammate gain a step, Christian Grosse zipped a dime in stride to Flo who finished an AND 1 foul converting the Ulm fast break. But Grosse was not done there. Recognizing a two for one situation at the end of the first quarter, Ulm called for a ballscreen play for Grosse who smoothly weaved off the midfloor ballscreen to the left wing. Suddenly surprising everyone, Grosse instantly pulled up and sent a three ball straight to china so beautiful it barely moved the net. The strong start and skillful finish gave Ulm command holding a 27-13 lead after one.
Ulm defense was outstanding in the first ten minutes causing turnovers and creating offense from defense. In fact, Jonathan Levy possibly invented a new statistical category in basketball on a defensive play early in the game. Freiburg veteran Jef Tomesch curled off a screen, caught the ball on the right wing and attempted to take Jono one on one. With him move for move like his shadow, Levy elevated as Tomsech pulled up to shoot. As Tomesch shot, Levy simply took the ball at its peak in an action that was both a block and a steal. Later, on the bus ride home the official terminology became either a "Bl-eal" or "St-lock". In any case, Ulm's defense set the tone and empowered the team with momentum.
Ulm center Maksym Shtein, here at the foul line, was a major factor in the win on both ends of the floor.
In quarter two, Freiburg showed some signs of life. Ulm defenders allowed too much space in defending cuts and young wings Peter Holubek and Bojan Atanasoski sank key threes to bring energy to their team. The small Freiburg run pulled them to 24-19 but transition baskets and drives from Erege helped Ulm stay ahead. 5 minutes into the second quarter, with Ulm leading 36-23, Levy and Gibbs returned to the floor after a brief rest on the bench. Sparking the team, Ulm pushed ahead in a 9-2 run to 43-25. Riding their momentum and running the floor, Ulm surged to end the second quarter and when Jonathan Levy's top of the key buzzer beating three hit nothing but net, Ulm took a 19 point 51-32 lead into the halftime lockerroom of Sepp-Glasser Halle.
At the half, Ulm could feel great about their first half effort and early game performance. Ulm hit 60% from the floor, drilled 46% from three and played outstanding defense to earn their big lead. But with one half still to play, 19 points can disappear quickly if not performing properly.
Freiburg was a different team in the second half. Immediately increasing their defensive pressure and physical play, Freiburg slowly chipped away at the deficit. Ulm offense seemed to fall back on their heels instead of attacking. Turnovers and missed finishes began to appear in the Ulm possessions. Freiburg used the sequences to gain momentum. 51-32 became 56-37 which evolved into 56-43 four minutes into the third quarter. Although Ulm players began to try to make plays individually, a timeout to discuss the situation changed that. However, it did not change the mounting momentum from the inspired hosts. Aggressive Freiburg defense and missed Ulm opportunities ate away at Ulm's lead. The game took a physical turn and both teams picked up their intensity and physical play. Jeff Gibbs drew a charge in the second straight game and players from both teams bumped cuts, dove on the floor and hustled all over the floor. But it was the Freiburg offense who hit shots while Ulm could not find a rhythm. Soon, the 23-13 third quarter for Freiburg began to sink in ---- hardwork had gotten Freiburg back into the game.
Jonathan Levy is NICE
The teams huddled between quarters with the score Ulm 64 Freiburg 55. Staying positive, Ulm focused on strong finishes, strong plays against pressure and strong defensive stops. Accepting responsibility and reaffirming their determination, Ulm returned to the floor ready to earn the important road win. Again, Captain Emeka Erege came up big with strong defense, rebounding and big baskets. Erege attacked the basket hard off the dribble drawing fouls and getting to the foul line. Back to back baskets from Levy and Gibbs helped Ulm match the red-hot Freiburg run. It was still anybodies ball game. Martin Thuesen, Erege and Levy attacked the basket hard and were rewarded with free throw attempts. Thuesen sank two and Erege hit one before the powerful Gibbs found a way to finish through contact inside. Another big Ulm basket came with the shot clock ticking down and the team moving the ball around the perimeter. Somehow, the ball found center Maksym Shtein standing alone on the low left wing. The Ukraine native eyed up a three and fired as the shot clock buzzer sounded. Hit and falling as he released the shot, Shtein was flat on the floor in the corner as the ball swished through for three bringing the Ulm bench and fans to their feet in excitement. With five minutes to play, Ulm held a 69-59 lead.
Ulm team defense held off a furious Freiburg rally with strong stops down the stretch.
Up 71-59 with 4 minutes to play. Freiburg struck back. Point guard Babes Douloudis, who played an excellent game, drilled a pullup three from the top of the key, finished an AND 1 transition continuation 3 point play and poked loose a halfcourt steal for a breakaway basket in crunch time. Douloudis' personal 8-0 run singlehandidly brought Freiburg back into the game again. Cutting the lead to 73-67, an Ulm timeout calmed the team and set strategy for the final minutes. In a strange moment, Freiburg players attempted to confuse Ulm defenders coming out of a timeout when they lined up as if they were preparing for defense when they really were on offense. Alertly, Ulm did not fall for the nonsense and correctly played defense.
Jonathan Levy slices to the basket for a key hoop in crunchtime.
Ulm's execution was far from perfect down the stretch but the effort was there. Erege did a fantastic job drawing a foul and getting to the foul line for two. However, the captain came up empty. For Freiburg, Bojan Atanasoski pulled the team closer with a clutch basket trimming the score to 73-69 at the 2 minute mark. A possession later, Shtein was also strong in the paint battling on the offensive boards. Shtein also earned a trip to the foul line but hit only one of two free throws. After an Ulm foul, Douloudis also hit one of two foul shots and the Sepp Glasser Halle scoreboard read Ulm 74 Freiburg 70 with just over one minute to play.
Executing well when it counted the most, Ulm ran a set using a ballscreen on the right wing. Spacing the floor well, Ulm players moved the ball to the opposite side reversing to attack. As the shot clock ran down, Ulm ball movement reversed the ball back up top to Jonathan Levy at the top of the key. Scanning the floor, Levy zipped a bullet to a wide open Jeff Gibbs on the right baseline just off the international block. Gibbs took one power dribble as two Freiburg big men desperately rotated on defense. Elevating and finishing strong, the big bucket was greeted with a referee's whistle turning it into an AND 1 finish with 50 seconds to play. Sinking the clutch free throw, Gibbs' three point play had given Ulm breathing room at 77-70 with less than one minute remaining.
Time was running out on Freiburg's rally. It finally expired when a desperate three point attempt barely grazed the rim and Jonathan Levy ran down the loose ball rebound. Fouled, Levy hit one more free throw cementing the final score at 78-70.
Emeka Erege makes a pass with a high degree of difficulty
Emeka Erege's excellent effort epitomized Ulm's evening Sunday as Erege starred in the first half hitting for 15 points. The Ulm small forward then worked hard in the second half and finished the game with a solid 18 points and 10 rebounds. Jeff Gibbs also worked relentlessly and pounded physically for 13 points and 12 boards. Jonathan Levy made several big plays and handled pressure effectively down the stretch in contributing 17 points and 6 rebounds while Maksym Shtein again played well in Freiburg scoring 14 points with 5 boards in the win. Point guards Martin Thuesen and Christian Grosse combined to shoot a perfect 5-5 from the floor for 14 points as well. Ulm shot 46% from the floor for the game after hitting a sizzling 60%in the first half. Ulm also outrebounded Freiburg 41-35 in the game. For Freiburg, point guard Babes Douloudis played an impressive game scoring 20 points on 7-10 floor shooting and John Thomas added 15 points and 12 rebounds in the loss.
Sweeping the two game weekend by winning at home 89-73 over TV Lich Friday night at Sportszentrum Kuhberg and bt beating USC Freiburg 78-70 at Sepp-Glasser Halle Sunday afternoon, ratiopharm Ulm remains perfect on the season at 13-0 and maintains their position atop the 2.Bundesliga South.
Jeff Gibbs THUNDERDUNK!
ratiopharm Ulm returns to action Friday night as erdgas Baskets Jena visit Sportszentrum Kuhberg in a major 2.Bundesliga South matchup. Ulm enters the game 13-0 while Jena is 11-2. Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com
GO ULM!
MIKE T
