Ulm Dunks shorthanded Stuttgart 96-68!
ratiopharm Ulm improved to 19-0 with an entertaining 96-68 victory over a shorthanded MTV Stuttgart team Saturday night at Sporthalle West in the heart of beautiful Stuttgart. Ulm exploded to an early 13-4 lead and never looked back. A scrapy Stuttgart team made a run to open the second half, but Ulm point guard Martin Thuesen made a run of his own scoring 9 straight points to put the game away midway through the third quarter. A game filled with exciting plays and strong performances from both teams was highlighted by two spectacular alley oop jams from Ulm's Jonathan Levy, Maksym Shtein's strong performance in his homecoming to Stuttgart and Jeff Gibbs powerful play in the paint. Missing key players due to injury and illness, Stuttgart received inspired performances from veterans Radi Tomasevic and Tom Klemm in the loss.
AAAHHHH! Jonathan Levy MASHES his second alley oop as Stuttgart's Christian Spieth admires!
SATURDAY NIGHT FEBUARY 11th, 2006 7:30pm tip
vs
Entering Sporthalle West in the city of Stuttgart Saturday night, ratiopharm Ulm remembered October 15th from earlier in the season. It was a night Ulm had their hands full. A fiesty Stuttgart squad came into Sportszentrum Kuhberg, took a seven point lead over Ulm in the fourth quarter and gave Mike T and his men everything they could want in the 76-71 ratiopharm Ulm win. That was Game Day 4.
Fastforward four months to Febuary for the second meeting between Ulm and Stuttgart and things looked different. A shorthanded Stuttgart team suffered the loss of key wing Kresimir Miksa who was out with a concussion from a car accident. American forward Dainmon Gonner was a gonner after leaving the team due to homesickness. Without question, for Saturday's rematch in Game Day 19, Stuttgart head coach Takis Genikomsidis had his hands full. Making matters worse, as both teams dressed and prepared in their locker rooms, word was received that another key component of the Stuttgart attack would me missing --- big man Peter Huber-Saffer, averaging a double double for the season at 10 points and 11 boards a game, would not be in uniform as he fought the flu. What was expected to be an experienced, balanced and talented opponent suddenly morphed into a basketball team with limitations. The game which was expected to be extremly competitive quickly shifted into a clear
From the opening tip, Ulm jumped out to an advantage. Entering the game with 7 players on the active roster, Stuttgart played exclusively zone defense in an effort to stay away from fouls and maintain the conditioning for the full 40 minutes. Saturday in Stuttgart would be the first game all season in which ratiopharm Ulm faced zone defense the entire evening. A smaller floor (narrow from sideline to sideline) shortened passing lanes and increased pressure from the zone, but active flash cutting, ball reversal and inside-out action helped the Ulm attack. Maksym Shtein and Jeff Gibbs worked effectively inside and rebounded with tenacity to set the tone. Jonathan Levy made intelligent flash cuts into the lane and also rebounded well from his guard position. Ulm defense forced difficult shots and Ulm opened a 9-2 lead. As if a seven man lineup was challenging enough, hardnosed point guard Radiska Zdravkovic drove hard down the left lane line off a ball screen. Challenged as he finished at the rim by several Ulm defenders, Zdravkovic drew the foul and went down along the baseline sliding into the row of cheerleaders aligned along the wall. Unfortunately for Stuttgart, the experienced point did not get up. Holding his right hamstring, Zdravkovic left the game just over 3 minutes into action limiting Coach Genikomsidis' bench even more. Down 9-2 on the scoreboard, down to just 6 healthy players, Stuttgart attempted to digest this stunning blow.
Jeff Gibbs soars for his "Larry Nance" dunk in the second half!
Ulm turned up the attack and increased the lead to 13-4. Forced to play two inexperienced players in Christian Spieth and Enrico Pfuller, Ulm adjusted their game plan to include several forms of double teaming and trapping in their half court man to man defense. The scrambling and rotating Ulm defense was difficult for Stuttgart to figure out as they worked to figure out their injury-plagued lineup. Ulm's defense also pressured and denied talented Stuttgart scoring guard Radi Tomasevic making him work extremly hard for touches. On the other end, Ulm displayed an effective zone attack highlighted by a beautiful alley oop dunk from athletic Ulm guard Jonathan Levy. As Martin Thuesen sailed a pin point lob pass from the left wing over top the defense just right of the rim, Stuttgart defender Tom Klemm jumped up to intercept the pass. Stalking the sailing ball like a panther on the prowl, Levy ascended up and over Klemm, took the ball with a gimme-that scowl and rammed home a powerful two hand jam over the stunned Stuttgart forward. Ulm fans went bezerk at the beautiful basketball play. The exciting dunk and aggressive fast break baskets helped Ulm overcome a period of poor perimetet shooting and empty finishes inside. Up 26-10 after one quarter, Ulm accomplished what they set out to do at the tip --- start fast in Stuttgart and take control of the game early.
Entering the second quarter, intensity picked up on both ends of the floor. Not backing down, veteran Stuttgart players fought hard. The Stuttgart offense revolved around three players --- the skillful Tomasevic, the inspired Klemm and talented big man Andreas Bloch. Stuttgart offense picked up in the second quarter as they adjusted to the Ulm pressure and trapping in the fullcourt while handling double teaming increasingly better as the game went on. Although Ulm continued to crash the boards hard, inside finishing became more difficult as officials let both teams play. Action got rough in the paint and rebounding became a physical battle. Ulm outscored the home squad 22-17 to take a 48-27 lead into the halftime locker room.
At the half, Ulm revisited a road game from before Christmas when they enjoyed an excellent first half in Freiburg to take a twenty point lead at intermission. Unfortunately, Ulm sleepwalked through much of the second half as Freiburg fought back erasing Ulm's lead turning the one-sided contest into a close game. Momentum can be a trick animal and Ulm hoped to tame the game in Stuttgart with a disciplined second half. A second major issue revolved around the teams composure. Playing with great intensity in physical action, Ulm players needed to be reminded to play through no-calls, cheap shots and frustrating situations without reacting to officials or acting up.
Jan Sprunken sinks a three with good form
Focused and ready, Ulm returned for the second half. But as they had been warned, Ulm started slowly giving up a shot clock beating three pointer to Andreas Bloch at the top of the key,turning the ball over for a Tomasevic score and surrendering a right corner three to Georgios Michas within the first minute of the third quarter. The quick 8-0 Stuttgart run resulted in a quick Ulm timeout. Head Coach Mike Taylor layed into the team before the lackidasical play let the lead slip away. Intensely spraying the squad with coaching information, Ulm leaders Emeka Erege, Maksym Shtein and Jonathan Levy responded. But it was point guard Martin Thuesen who took over. The Danish Dynamite, who has been in excellent form since returning from Christmas Break, drifted into the zone for two minutes scoring 9 straight points rebuilding Ulm's lead. Thuesen sank a left wing three then went back and got after Radi on D. The next possession, Martin buried another left wing three --- almost an instant replay (Thuesen 6 Stuttgart 0). Finally, following a steal, Thuesen recovered the loose ball in the Stuttgart backcourt, attacked the basket, drew body contact with a challenging Stuttgart defender, hung in the air and deftly dropped in a direct bankshot off glass for an outstanding AND1 finish. At the finish of Martin's individual clinic, Ulm lead 59-36. The Danish Dynamite had successfully difused any hope of a Stuttgart comeback. After the precision perimeter shooting, the Ulm outside game went cold. Thankfully, Maksym Shtein and Jeff Gibbs scored inside often receiving dimes from Levy and Erege off dribble penetration.
Up 73-49 after three, Ulm went up top again as Thuesen sailed his second lob pass to Jonathan Levy for another alley oop slam. Stuttgart's Tom Klemm and Radi Tomasevic kept the pressure on. Klemm drilled three point shots off ball reversal and off the pick and pop. The experienced forward also sliced right down the lane for a tough slam down the gut of the Ulm defense. Tomasevic made a beautiful dribble move throwing the ball out ahead expanding his inside out move to split Ulm defenders at full speed in transition for a layup. The crafty playmaker also finished a circus shot flipping the ball up blind over shotblockers and buried an NBA ranged three from the right wing. But as time began to run out frustration began to set in.
Ulm point guard Martin Thuesen continued to step up to the challenge of defending Tomasevic forcing a travel and a turnover to the delight of Ulm fans. Back to back unsportsmanlike fouls were whistled against Stuttgart. First, a Stuttgart defender reached out and grabbed Emeka Erege's jersey from behind as the fleet Ulm forward ran the floor in transition. Second, after Jeff Gibbs ripped down a rebound and bust out on the fast break, he met up with a Tomasevic lariot just across halfcourt. Free throws plus possession kept Ulm in control. Finally, with just over two minutes remaining and the game sure in hand, Ulm guard Jonathan Levy fouled Radi Tomasevic at half court going for a steal. Upset with the collision, Radi had words for the official who immediately hit Tomasevic with a T which fouled him out of the game. By the final buzzer, Ulm fans stood to celebrate the road "Siege". Collecting their 19th win, Ulm had beaten Stuttgart 96-68.
FOUR ON FOUR: Ulm guard Martin Thuesen (4) was outstanding on both ends of the floor sparking a decisive third quarter run with a 9-0 spurt and defending talented Stuttgart scoring guard Radi Tomasevic (4).
Jonathan Levy led Ulm scoring with 21 points and a team best 7 assists in the win. Center Maksym Shtein enjoyed a strong game back home in Stuttgart with 17 points and 4 rebounds while Jeff Gibbs also added 14 points and an inaccurate 12 boards (he had about 18). Martin Thuesen's excellent evening finished with 12 points 4 assists and Emeka Erege added 12 points 4 boards. Also playing in front of family and friends, Boblingen native Florian Mobius scored 8 points with 6 rebounds. Ulm shot 40% from the field (31-77) including 7 of 25 (28%) from three. The team outrebounded Stuttgart 45-41 while grabbing an impressive 18 offensive rebounds. Ulm also dished out a solid 27 assists compared to 13 turnovers. For Stuttgart, Tom Klemm was in top form scoring 21 points with 14 rebounds while Radi Tomasevic added 18 points 7 assists in the loss. Andreas Bloch produced a double double of 10 points 11 rebounds and Georgios Michas came off the bench for 12 points 7 assists in place of injured Zdravkovic.
ratiopharm Ulm returns home to Sportszentrum Kuhberg Saturday Febuary 18th as they go for their 20th win of the season in a rematch against the improved Crailsheim Merlins. Off this weekend, Crailsheim has won 8 of their last 11 games and feature several new players to bolster their lineup. Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com
GO ULM!
MIKE T
