TALE OF TWO HALVES!
"Tabellenfuhrer" Turns Table on Kaiserslautern!!
ratiopharm Ulm reversed a 9 point halftime deficit with a 12-0 run to start the second half triggering a 28-8 third quarter as they rolled to an important 89-65 road win over Kaiserslautern Red Devils Sunday night at Schulzentrum Nord in Kaiserslautern. In the decisive run, Ulm held the Red Devils scoreless for the first five minutes of the second half and outscored the hosts 57-24 after the break. Overcoming a slow start and motivated opponent, Ulm used a balanced attack with production from 9 players to earn this critical head to head road win. Shaking off rust from the Holiday break, Ulm's decisive second half performance in such an important game turned the tables and maintained Ulm control of table. The victory puts ratiopharm Ulm in a power position atop the league standings with a 3 game lead over second place Jena (12-3) plus head to head advantage over all opponents. Ulm remains unbeaten, 15-0 at the seasons halfway point while Kaiserslautern, who lost for the first time at home this season, fell to 11-4.
New forward Konrad Wysocki made a strong debut for Ulm Sunday in Kaiserslautern.
Sunday January 15, 2006 6pm
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ratiopharm Ulm continued to roll with a strong 89-65 road win in Kaiserslautern Sunday night but the victory was far from easy. A fired up Red Devil team burst from the gate racing to a double digit lead early in the action. Foul trouble, missed shots and lack of defensive discipline appeared in Ulm's performance clearly reminding everyone exactly how long the teams 30 day Holiday break had been. But on this meaningful mid-winter evening, ratiopharm Ulm would not be denied. Outstanding leadership from captain Emeka Erege and veteran players forced the team to keep their focus and maintain their composure. Like night and day, the difference between Sunday's first half and second half was extreme.
Prior to tip off, both teams faced intriguing questions. First, how would the two teams respond to almost one month break for the Holidays? The last league action for both Ulm and Kaiserslautern occurred Friday December 16th, 2005. Thirty days later, these two teams tipped off in this extremely important one versus two matchup January 15th, 2006. Second, how would roster changes impact each team? The Red Devils had recently released star scoring guard Tamien Trent, the leagues player of the month for December --- how would Kaiserslautern respond to the teams new addition and would they find a way to fill the giant void left behind by a departed Trent? On the opposite bench, Ulm recently signed forward Konrad Wysocki --- how would the former Ehingen Steeple forward fit in and perform? Finally, how would injuries and depth affect the action. Michael Skender was making his return for the Red Devils after playing in only 6 games before Christmas with a stress fracture in his foot. Meanwhile, Ulm closely watched point guard Martin Thuesen after the Danish national PG missed several days of practice nursing inflamation in his foot. All things considered, many basketball fans predicted Sunday would be the first loss for ratiopharm Ulm this season.
Ulm fans proudly display the GIANT ULM jersey in Kaiserslautern!
For a half, those predictions looked like the work of a swami. Kaiserslautern came out hot, scoring inside and out as Derek Robinson and newly signed shooter Keith Triplett were extremely effective from the Red Devil backcourt. Before the the guests knew it, Kaiserslautern had run out to a double digit lead. Poor defensive discipline combined with missed shots dug Ulm their hole. Defenders went for shot fakes flying out of position or failed to closeout effectively running past shooters. As a result, Ulm defense gave up too much dribble penetration for Robinson and Triplett in the first half. The Red Devils hit key three point shots to build their lead before big men David Arigbabu and Stuart Robbins overpowered Ulm big men on the boards. Trailing 23-13 after one quarter, Ulm looked rusty and seemed to suffer from such a long holiday break.
Momentum slowly started to shift in the second quarter. Ulm cut into the lead but could not gain much ground. Ulm big men Gibbs and Shtein were hit with their second foul midway through the quarter and when team captain Emeka Erege was given his third, Mike T juggled his bench effectively. Forward Florian Mobius and recently signed Konrad Wysocki came off the bench to play excellent minutes for a foul plagued Ulm team. The addition of Wysocki clearly strengthened the Ulm team and the Princeton graduate made an impressive debut with Ulm. Smoothly implementing the 9 man rotation, Ulm players pushed forward hoping to trim the deficit, but a hot Red Devil team continued to make plays to maintain their lead. A deep pull up contested three from Derek Robinson inspired his team. Then, when Robinson beat his man along the right baseline, Ulm's Jan Sprunken left his man from the opposite wing to go help in the paint --- unfortunately, Robinson drew the sinking defenders to him and zipped a bullet pass to his new teammate keith Triplett who cooly buried another triple. Despite their effort, Ulm departed the floor for the halftime lockerroon down nine 41-32.
At the half, Ulm's main issues centered around defensive discipline and offensive execution. Of critical importance, was the teams mindset --- easy to be frustrated in the first game back following such a long Holiday break, Ulm actually expected a little sluggish performance. What no one expected was the teams composure and determination that showed through and charged everyone in the second half. Focusing on working to earn 4 defensive stops and 4 buckets, the Ulm players relaxed, refocused and invested their complete energy into making the first run in the second half.
Kaiserslautern's gym is Green.
That run did not take long to materialize. From the sideline inbound play starting the second half, Ulm's Jeff Gibbs set the tone and made it happen. Gibbs's crossover move opened a driving opportunity; Gibb's two hand moster Jam finished it. Refocused from halftime, Ulm defense again, raised their level of play holding Kaiserslautern scoreless for the first five minutes of the second half. In the mean time, Ulm created offense from their defense and ran off stops for easy scores. By the time Ulm's Emeka Erege nailed a J to give Ulm a one point lead, Kaiserslautern head coach Stephan Seile called timeout and wanted to talk things over. The timeout did not slow down the Ulm attack. Strong defensive rebounding and tenacious shot blocking triggered offensive opportunities. Ulm began to change defenses and traps created two more turnovers. Finally, individual defenders sharpened up containing the ball effectively one on one, closing out properly and demonstrating championship level defensive discipline. Jonathan Levy made two tremendously athletic blocks against Red Devil guard Triplett while big men Jeff Gibbs, Maksym Shtein and Florian Mobius all recorded a piece of Ulm's season high 8 blocked shots. Ulm exploded to a 28-8 third quarter as the team regained control of the game. Later in the 3rd, Martin Thuesen pressued Kaiserslautern back up point guard Florian Moysich so effectively, the Danish Dynamite's one man press resulted in an 8 second count! As Kaiserslautern saw the lead slip away, a few players became frustrated and began to discuss calls and no calls with the officials. Finally, late in the third quarter, Derek Robinson questioned a no-call along the baseline and was hit with a T. Using the situation to their advantage, Ulm continued to attack and built the lead to 60-49 heading into the final frame.
A key moment for Ulm in the third quarter occurred when Emeka Erege was assessed his 4th foul 4 minutes into the second half. At this time, Ulm decided to go with a bigger lineup playing Mobius and Wysocki at the three spot for a better matchup against Red Devil big wings Paul Howard and Michael Skender. With Mobius and Wysocki giving the team productive minutes, Ulm maintained their run with defense and easy baskets.
With the easy baskets Ulm's perimeter shooting picked up. Thuesen drilled a right wing three and Erege buried a three from nearly the same spot. Ulm added to the lead extending the advantage to 66-51 with 8 minutes remaining. Minutes later, Kaiserslautern center Stuart Robbins fouled out shortening the 7 man Red Devil rotation even more for the final five minutes. Ulm continued their big plays as Christian Grosse drilled a left wing three and Jan Sprunken stealthfully ran a passing lane for a clever steal and breakaway layup. The 29-16 4th quarter gave Ulm a chance to empty the bench inserting young point guard Sebastian Geserick and talented prospect Antonis Sivorotka into the action for the final minutes. When the buzzer sounded, Ulm walked off the green European floor with a convincing 89-65 win keeping the team unbeaten through the halfway point of the season.
Ulm players celebrate the big win with the classic "soccer slide to the fans"!
Ulm's Jonathan Levy led the teams scoring with 22 points on 6-12 shooting including 3 of 6 from three point range. Levy added 7 rebounds and 3 assists to the win. Power forward Jeff Gibbs was also outstanding scoring 14 points with 9 rebounds as he sparked Ulm's strong start to the third quarter with big baskets in the run. Interestingly, Gibbs also led the Ulm team in assists on the evening with 4. Maksym Shtein also played well scoring 12 points on 5 for 6 floor shooting. Captain Emeka Erege added 11 points in limited minutes due to foul trouble. Special mention should be made to Ulm's bench players Jan Sprunken (9pts in 11 min), Florian Mobius (4pts 5reb 2blks in 17min) and Konrad Wysocki (7pt 3reb in his Ulm debut), who all gave the team quality play and key contributions to the victory. Finally, Ulm point guards Martin Thuesen and Christian Grosse changed the game in the second half with outstanding one on one defense and transition play. Grosse, starting his first game of the season finished with 6 points on 2-4 three point shooting with 3 assists while Thuesen added 4 points and forced several second half turnovers with strong defensive play as he showed full recovery from his inflamed foot.
For the game, Ulm hit 54% (33-61) from the floor and 47% (9-19) from three. Ulm distributed 17 assists but was outrebounded 42-34. Meanwhile, Kaiserslautern shot 34% (24-69) from the floor and 23% (5-22) from three. The Red Devils suffered 19 turnovers compared to 6 assists. Recently signed American wing Keith Triplett toscored for the Red Devils with 19, closely followed by Derek Robinson's 18. David Arigbabu also played well scoring 15 points with 9 rebounds.
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GO ULM!
MIKE T
