TAYLORHOOPS.COM ULM UPDATE
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Ulm Wins in Jena!!
ratiopharm Ulm earned a convincing 81-69 road win over erdgas Baskets Jena Saturday night at Lobeda West in Jena. Jeff Gibbs powered his way to 24 points and 8 rebounds and Jonathan Levy added 16 in the solid team win. Leaving no doubt about the 2.Bundesliga South, Ulm improved to 28-1 for the year while second place Jena slipped to 24-5. Winning both regular season head to head meetings with Jena, Ulm's road win in Jena resulted from a solid team performance and hardworking defense. Pleased with the effort in Jena, ratiopharm Ulm now looks ahead to the season finale at Sportszentrum Kuhberg in Ulm when 1FC Kaiserslautern visits Saturday April 29th for a 7pm tip.
Jeff Gibbs powers to the hoop!
Game 28 Saturday April 22, 2006 8pm
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During the preseason both ratiopharm Ulm and erdgas Baskets Jena fixed their eyes onthe same prize. Over the course of the season, these two top 2.Bundesliga South teams ran the race for first place. After Jena knocked Ulm from the German Cup with a 76-74 victory at Sportszentrum Kuhberg in early November, many fans favored the eastern German based team. Ulm bounced back to claim a 74-72 home win that gave them pole position in the league race back in mid-December. Since that time, ratiopharm Ulm never looked back racing out to a special season. Overcoming injuries and personel moves, Jena stayed closely behind keeping pace in second place with a primary focus of staying on track for the rematch against Ulm. But for Jena, by the time the schedule read Ulm 27 games into the season, the 2.Bundesliga South was already swen up.
Ulm's Thomas Stoll proudly displays his Championship T-shirt!
While pre-game anticipation was reduced with Ulm's league-clinching victory last week, Ulm-Jena drew much interest for several storylines. First, any one versus two matchup means a meeting of top teams and competitive basketball. The fact that Ulm and Jena had split a pair of pre-Christmas meetings added to the intrigue. Second, Jena entered the evening unbeaten at home looking to lock up second place over east German rival Chemnitz. Third, after successful years in Jena, head coach Frank Menz would leave the team after the season. A unique feeling before tipoff, both teams prepared for play with clear goals but clearly without pressure.
Not only focused on these storylines, the Jena crowd arrived at Lobeda West to celebrate their teams successful season in their final home game. A nice pre-game ceremony ensued as Jena recognized their coaches and players for their work in achieving the best record in team history this year. In a classy move, the Jena organization also recognized ratiopharm Ulm's special season by presenting head coach Mike Taylor with a giant bottle of east German wine and case of east German beer for staff and players. Certainly such positive feelings and sportsmanship set the stage for a respectful basketball battle.
Ulm's Maksym Shtein slams one early in the game!
Immediately from the tip, both teams struggled to find their rhythm. Missed shots and miss-timed execution on both ends kept the game scoreless for several possessions. Soon, Ulm went to work. Going inside to power forward Jeff Gibbs and center Maksym Shtein, Ulm made effort to establish their post game. Finishing with strong plays and hitting shots, Ulm surged ahead. By the time Konrad Wysocki's high post lob pass to Jeff Gibbs was finished with a two hand alley oop slam, Ulm led 17-7 and the energizing slam led to a Jena timeout. Rotating the bench into the action early in order to capitalize on their advantage in depth, Ulm players continued to create offense from their defense. As the first quarter came to a close, Ulm held a 22-10 lead with just over 1 minute remaining but a late Jena burst trimmed the score to 24-16 after ten minutes of play.
Ulm's Jonathan Levy drives against Jena's Austen Rowland!
Riding their momentum, Jena battled back into the game. Holding Ulm to 1 point over a five minute first half stretch, Jena cut the Ulm advantage to one at 25-24. Ulm took a timeout to settle down and discuss the action. Fouls for both teams became a factor as several players picked up their second foul midway through the second quarter. Unfortunately for Jena --- with depth being a challenge already from missing Oliver Braun and Robert Cardenas) --- forward Mischa Zlotowski was lost for the game after he was helped off the floor hobbled from an ankle injury. Responding like a league champion, ratiopharm Ulm answered with a 17-4 run breaking the game open at 42-28. Jonathan Levy hit a tough pull up J and Christian Grosse buried two three pointers in the Ulm explosion. Only Austen Rowland's late bucket sent the teams into halftime lockerrooms at 42-31.
At the half, Ulm aimed to continue to change defenses effectively but improve details like closeouts, blockouts and rotations. Offensively, the team examined their execution and agreed upon an attack against Jena's post double. Well aware of the storylines and circumstances surrounding the evening at Lobeda West, Ulm went hard through warmup focused on sealing the game with a strong second half run.
But a team like Jena never goes away without a fight. Filled with pride and strong players, Jena started the second half with a 7-0 to pull back into the game. Unfortunately for Ulm, players missed several plays in the paint despite physical contact from defenders. Jena fans cheered as the scoreboard read Ulm 42 Jena 38 only minutes into third quarter action. Austen Rowland and Ronnie Taylor keyed the Jena attack. After a turnover on an errant pass, Ulm tried to settle down in a timeout. Behind the strength of excellent leadership from captain Emeka Erege and veterans like Maksym Shtein, Ulm re-focused and immediately answered with a short push that re-established their 10 point lead at 52-42. Power forward Jeff Gibbs continued to dominate the paint. Maintaining the double-digit lead, Ulm took an 11 point lead 63-52 into the fourth quarter. Jena's depth and fouls eventually caught up with them. Center Lars Buss and back up big man Oliver Golla fouled out. Jena's Austen Rowland and Ronnie Taylor valiantly worked for their comeback, but the closest the hosts could come was 72-63. With just under two minutes to play, a Jonathan Levy transition AND1 finish three point play dispelled any hope of a comeback. Up 76-63 with a minute and a half remaining, Ulm emptied their bench with young players and wound the clock down to the 81-69 road win.
Air Mail: Jeff Gibbs stamps this Konrad Wysocki lob pass Lobeda West!
Ulm's Jeff Gibbs topscored with 24 points on accurate 8 of 10 shooting from both the floor and foul line. He also added 8 rebounds in the game. Jonathan Levy also played well posting 16 points on 6-11 accuracy with 2 of 3 threes. Captain Emeka Erege and Christian Grosse chipped 11 points apiece. Center Maksym Shtein contributed 8 points and 8 boards. As a team Ulm hit 29 of 66 (44%) from the floor and 7 of 19 (37%) from three. Ulm outrebounded Jena 37-27 and collected 10 steals. Meanwhile, Jena hit 24 of 53 shots for 45% including 6 of 20 from three for 30%. Jena recorded 7 assists, 14 turnovers and 6 steals. Austen Rowland's 22 point night paced Jena and Ronnie Taylor's 15 point performance pushed the hosts. Gregor Linke was the only other Jena player to reach double figures with 11 points and a team best 7 rebounds.
Clearly leaving no doubt about the 2.Bundesliga South this season, Ulm's road win in Jena gives them a 2 game sweep in head to head regular season meetings and a 2 games to 1 head to head advantage with Jena's German Cup win. Ulm improved to a league best 28-1 while Jena fell to 24-5. Jena can lock up second place with a road win Saturday in Freiburg while Ulm can close out a second consecutive unbeaten mark at home with a win over Kaiserslautern. Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com
GO ULM!
MIKE T
