TAYLORHOOPS.COM ULM UPDATE
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ULM TAKES KOLN THE DISTANCE!
ratiopharm Ulm challenged the German champion Sunday night taking Rhein Energie Koln the distance before Sasa Obradovic and his team took an 84-75 decision at the Rhein Energie Dome in Bundesliga Game Day 4. Five Koln players reached double figures led by athletic 4 man Ron Burell's 17 points and Immanuel McElroy's solid 15 point, 9 rebound, 5 assist night. But the Koln win was far from easy. ratiopharm Ulm played with inspired effort hanging with the champ until the final minutes when poor free throw shooting, players lost to fouls and clutch shots from the mighty "Deutscher Meister" finally sealed the victory.
photo from Thomas Fritsche
I CAN DUNK TOO!
Ulm C Bryan Lucas slams home 2 of his 12 first half points. Lucas played well before leaving due to injury in the 4th.
Entering Sundays action at the Energie Dome few would have given "Aufstieger" ratiopharm Ulm any chance at winning over Rhein Energie Koln. Who could disagree knowing the fact that Koln has been next to impossible to defeat at home over the last seasons and their Euroleague budget is close to 8 times Ulm's. But in the lockerroom before tipoff, ratiopharm Ulm had what was necessary --- belief. Led by the teams excellent captain Emeka Erege and supported by the cast of quality character wearing the black and orange with pride, Ulm players know their strength is together and in their team effort. Aiming at an upset, given little credit or chance, ratiopharm Ulm took the floor with determination, teamwork and a solid game plan. From the tip, Ulm attacked Koln. Jumping out to a 12-7 advantage, Ulm let the German champs know the night would not be easy. Strong starts from Bryan Lucas and Austen Rowland rushed Ulm's energy and re-inforced the teams confidence. Two fast fouls on Jeff Gibbs provided extra adversity for the hungry "Aufstiegers". Responding to the call, forward Florian Mobius answered the bell and stepped up when his team needed him. As Gibbs rested on the bench saddled with two fouls, Flo saddled up and made immediate impact with a dive cut lay-in through the terrific Koln D. Asserting themselves with a strong start, Ulm had done well to earn the lead.
photo from Thomas Fritsche
CHARGE!
Ulm's Jeff Gibbs rams into Koln F Guido Grunheid in the first quarter Sunday.
But Koln is not the champion for nothing. As Ulm subbed in their rotation, Koln increased their pressure. As quickly as the fantastic Koln defense forced Ulm turnovers, the scoreboard reversed in a hurry. Erasing Ulm's strong start in a little more than a minute, ratiopharm Ulm's 8 first quarter turnovers gave away the lead they worked so hard to take. After one, Koln controlled the action 21-15.
photo from Thomas Fritsche
HEAD TO HEAD!
Austen Rowland buries a three over Koln PG Demond Mallet. Dueling Demond Mallet, Rowland showed well scoring 19 points with 6 dimes.
Ulm effectively executed their game plan but the turnovers hurt their efforts. Refocusing and adjusting at the quarter break, ratiopharm Ulm returned to the floor with stronger plays against pressure and better organization against the relentless full court ballhawking from Koln athletes. Working together and helping one another, the Ulm team reduced their turnovers to 5 in the second quarter and increased their offensive effectiveness. With big buckets from Bryan Lucas and Austen Rowland, Ulm even the score at 22. During their first half effort, ratiopharm Ulm actually outrebounded the bigger, deeper, more athletic Koln team by 7 23-16. Highlights from the first half included a ridiculous alley-oop and1 dunk when Ronnie Burell finished a Koln fast break by catching a lob deflected by Ulm F Florian Mobius and ramming it home while flying over Flo. Along with Burell's showtime dunk, Koln PG Demond Mallet snuck free from Ulm D in the right corner to bury a money three. On the other end, Ulm's Jonathan Levy lined up Mallet --- who thought he was alone on the right wing in transition --- and smashed his shot out of bounds with a terrific shotblock from out of no-where. Finally, Ulm's Bryan Lucas pushed home a two hand dunk at the height of their rally energizing the team. Another positive, Ulm's changing defenses confused the Koln team. After going back and forth, the first half ended with Ulm trailing the powerful Koln team 41-40. As positive as the first half was for the underdog Ulm team, the haunting specter of missed free throws eerily foreshadowed the fine performance. Ulm hit only 8 of 17 free throws in the first half, a key to beating Koln, on this day they would not figure out.
photo from Thomas Fritsche
Koln Head Coach Sasa Obradovic and his team were tested by the hungry Ulm team.
As expected, Koln head coach Sasa Obradovic had some clear words for his team in the halftime lockerroom. In fact, Koln did not come out for layups and halftime warm up. Ulm was focused for a strong third quarter and started strong. As defenses picked up and both teams got a feel for each other, scoring went down. Koln switched to a 2-3 zone. Ulm adjsuted and stayed strong. Jeff Gibbs' Monster dunk and Austen Rowland's crafty passing highlighted the Ulm 3rd. Ulm held a 14-13 lead in the third quarter with just seconds on the clock. Koln worked through an inbound play but the ball was deflected out of bounds under their basket by an Ulm player with 0.5 seconds in the third. Tied at 54 with 0.5 to play, Ulm defenders locked in prepared for dive cuts to the rim and worked for their defensive stop. As Koln players cut through their well-designed action, Ulm defenders snuffed out all outlets. Finally, as a last resort, Koln lobbed the ball in the middle of the lane for PG Demond Mallet. As Jonathan Levy hugged Mallet leaving him little space for the catch, Demond leapt into the air caught the ball and in one motion fired it to the basket. Up straight without fouling, Levy played solid defense forcing an impossible shot. But for Demond Mallet in this moment, impossible was nothing. The super talented playmaker made another important play sinking this unbelieveable buzzerbeater to give Koln a 57-54 lead after three and momentum.
Playing with heart and togetherness, Ulm fought back. With 5 minutes remaining Ulm trailed by one bucket 66-64. But adversity and missed free throws caught up with them sabotaging their valiant effort. C Bryan Lucas, enjoying an excellent game, injured his leg and left the floor hobbled. Captain Emeka Erege fouled out early in the fourth. Soon after, Jeff Gibbs followed the captains lead with his fifth foul. Finally, Konrad Wysocki was whistled for five. A 5 point spurt from Marcus Faison extended the Koln advantage to 72-66. Jonathan Levy answered with a big three for Ulm setting the score at 72-69. Wysocki fouled out battling with Guido Grunheid. Free throws from Guido and IMAC seemed to give Koln breathing room, but Jeff Gibbs responded with a strong basket to give Ulm hope at 76-71. Big play Mallet drilled a CLUTCH three pushed Koln to 79-71 but Austen Rowland buried a three right back to make the game 79-74. In the final minutes, Koln won the free throw game and sealed their 84-75 victory.
An excellent effort from the ratiopharm Ulm team proved to be a moral victory as they fell to 1-3 early this Bundesliga season. Shaking hands after the game, Koln respected Ulm and their performance this day. Austen Rowland topscored for Ulm with 19 points and 6 assists including 3 of 6 from three. Bryan Lucas added a strong 14 points 7 boards before leaving the game due to injury. Jonathan Levy (13 points 5 rebounds) and Jeff Gibbs (13 points) were also in good form for Ulm. As a team Ulm hit 45% from the floor and 45% (9 of 20) from three. Unfortunately, they hit only 48% (16 of 33) from the foul line. Koln was led by Burell's excellent 17 point 4 rebound effort and Immanuel McElroy's 15 point 9 rebound 5 assist night. Marcus Faison added 15 while Demond Mallet and Marcin Gortat scored 10 points apiece. Koln hit 44% from the floor, 35% from three (6-17) and 77% from the foul line (24-31). Koln outrebounded Ulm 37-36 and both teams dished out 15 assists.
Click here for Ulm @ Rhein Energie Koln Game Day 4 Box Score
ratiophram Ulm can take pride in their performance while looking to learn from their experience. The next step in learning to win is "helping themselves win". In the process of development, the Ulm players are adjusting extremely well to the Bundesliga and responding to the challenges of each game. The teams execution and teamwork has been outstanding. Clearly the team is moving in a good direction! Learning to win takes time and the positive attitude and hard work in Ulm will see results.
Next up for ratiopharm Ulm is an "Aufstieger Battle" when Paderborn Baskets visit Sportszentrum Kuhberg Friday night for a 7pm tip. The first of a double game day weekend, Ulm visits SelbyTel Baskets Nurnberg Sunday for a 5pm game.
Follow all the fastbreaking ratiopharm Ulm Bundesliga basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com!
GO ULM!
MIKE T
