TAYLORHOOPS.COM ULM UPDATE
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!
ULM TOPS TRIER 85-82 IN OT!
Before a sold-out Sportszentrum Kuhberg Holiday-weekend crowd, ratiopharm Ulm topped Trier in overtime 85-82 earning their sixth win of the Bundesliga season and capping a fantastic 2006 for the organization. In an true team effort, Ulm received excellent production from their bench and used a balanced scoring attack to edge Trier, recently one of the hottest teams in the Bundesliga. C Maksym Shtein and PG Austen Rowland topscored for Ulm with 18 points apiece and Konrad Wysocki added a strong 14 points 8 rebounds to the Ulm win. For ratiopharm Ulm and the city, Saturday made for a truly "Happy New Year"!
ratiopharm Ulm PG Austen Rowland sinks a clutch free throw in Overtime helping the team earn an exciting 85-82 victory!
click here for Box Score Ulm vs Trier
click here for photo gallery from Ulm vs Trier
Saturday night at Sportszentrum Kuhberg, ratiopharm Ulm took another step forward in their initial Bundesliga basketball season. Earning their sixth win of the season, Ulm upset Trier in an exciting 85-82 overtime victory capping a fantastic 2006 for the Ulm organization.
Already without shooting guard Jan Sprunken, Ulm's roster was shortened again Friday when PG Martin Thuesen injured his calf muscle landing him on the injured reserve list for up to two weeks. Without question, it would take a tremendous team effort for Ulm to upset Trier team.
Opening up with determination, Ulm powered to an early lead behind inside scoring from C Maksym Shtein making his third starting assignment of the season. Also energizing Ulm's first quarter effort, F Konrad Wysocki actively impacted the attack on both ends of the floor. With improved defensive intensity, Ulm recorded stops triggering their transition game. After one quarter, Ulm held a 19-14 lead.
C Maksym Shtein keyed Ulm's inside attack with 18 points in the win.
Continuing their attack in the second quarter and building the advantage, the Ulm team pushed the lead and stood on the brink of double digits. But soft plays and turnovers in the final minutes of the first half ignited a Trier run which eventually cut the Ulm lead to four, 36-32 at break. Trier was strong in transition in the second quarter pushing the ball and penetrating with James Gillingham and Brandon Gay leading the production. Niether team seemed able to find the range from the perimeter as Ulm hit 1 of 8 threes while Trier sank 2 of 10.
Ulm G Christian Grosse sparked his team with back to back 3-pointers in the third quarter including one at the buzzer to regain the lead.
At the half, Ulm received a scare when star forward Jeff Gibbs was checked by the medical staff and held out of the lineup to start the third. Inserting Konrad Wysocki, Gibbs remained under medical care thru the midpoint of the frame before re-entering the action. In that time, the complextion of the game changed. A veteran team playing with determination, Trier immediately went to work to start the third quarter. James Gillingham's active driving and cutting helped Trier gain momentum. Excellent spot up three point shooting from power forward Danny Horace kept the Trier team rolling. After Trier took the lead, an Ulm timeout refocused the team. From the midpoint of the third, both Ulm and Trier went head to head in an outstanding Holiday weekend basketball game. Facing a dry spell, it was ratiopharm Ulm's surprise sub G Christian Grosse who sparked the offense sinking two three point shots late in the 3rd quarter helping Ulm regain the lead and head into the fourth quarter leading 53-51. Grosse sank a right wing three which helped bring the Kuhberg crowd into the game. Then, at the third quarter buzzer, Grosse buried a top of the key three that regained the lead.
Ulm F Jeff Gibbs powered his way to a 10 point 11 rebound double double and scored 6 of his points when it mattered most in OT.
One of the best three point shooting teams in the Bunedsliga, Trier hit only 3 of their first 15 attempts through three quarters. However, they would find the hot hand in the fourth. Drilling 5 threes in the fourth, Trier showed their fighting spirit with big plays and big shots from all over the floor. Veteran Chuck Evans, recently added to the Trier team, made a major impact on the floor. The wiley veteran penetrated and made plays when it counted. Finishing a driving lefty lay-in at extension and setting up teammates for spot up shots, Evans demonstrated his experience and helped Trier stay in the game when things looked bleak. Big buckets from Brandon Gay kept the pressure on. Ulm used scores from Maksym Shtein, Emeka Erege and Austen Rowland to maintain the slight edge. But poor ratiopharm Ulm free throw shooting allowed Trier opportunity to stay in the game. Finally, they cashed in. With 8 seconds remaining in regulation, Austen Rowland stood at the foul line with a chance to seal the victory. He made the first increasing the Ulm lead to 3 at 70-67. But the firey Ulm PG rimmed out the second shot giving Trier a second chance.
Rebounding the ball, Trier fired a pass to Evans along the left sideline. Ulm F Konrad Wysocki alertly charged him in an attempt to go for a steal and foul. Unfortunately, a clever spin move freed Evans and a Trier 2 on 1 developed as the game clock ticked down under 5. Evans drew the defender and kicked a penetrate and pitch pass to streaking Brandon Gay who caught and fired a three from the left corner...... MONEY. With 1.9 seconds left and a tie game at 70, Ulm called their final timeout to design a play for the last shot. The play went awry (the old picket fence didnt work) and the game went into overtime deadlocked at 70.
Konrad Wysocki energized Ulm in the first half with excellent play on his way to 14 points 8 rebounds in the game.
Huddling the team before the OT, the main emphasis for Ulm rested on the teams mentality after loosening grip on the game and watching Trier fight back to tie. Aiming for the first stop, first score and first play, Ulm focused on momentum. Over the first 2 minutes after the OT tip, Ulm burst to an 8 point 78-70 lead. A standing Kuhberg crowd energized the teams defense.
Austen Rowland drilled a top of the key three, Jonathan Levy blocked a Tommy Adams turnaround J and Jeff Gibbs scored 6 big points in overtime to regain command for Ulm. But on this night there was no quit in Trier. An Evans right wing three off post reaction and a NBA deep triple from Adams gave the guests 6 quick points. With Ulm again needing clutch free throws, Rowland stepped back to the charity stripe and sank both foul shots. Up three 85-82, Trier's desperation last second corner three attempt from Evans sailed long and Ulm could celebrate an exciting holiday weekend win!
Sold Out Sportszentrum Kuhberg crowd gave ratiopharm Ulm a big boost for the exciting holiday weekend win!
For the game, Ulm shot 48% from the floor while holding Trier to 40%. With a strong inside presence, Ulm outrebounded Trier 43-38 and Ulm centers produced 22 points compared with 6 from Trier pivots. Ulm's offense also distributed 17 assists, their highest team total in more than a month. Trier sank 18 of 28 free throws (64%) while Ulm managed to make only 14 of 26 (53%). From beyond the arc, Trier drilled 10 of 27 including 7 of their last 12. Ulm hit only 5 of 22 three pointers for the game.
Maksym Shtein played a strong game in the paint for Ulm scoring 18 points on 7 of 12 shooting. Austen Rowland also added 18 points on 6 for 8 floor shooting including 2 of 3 from three. Rowland also grabbed 5 boards and dished out 5 assists in a solid all around effort. Konrad Wysocki contributed 14 points and 8 rebounds and Jeff Gibbs overcame his medical issues to post a 10 point 11 rebound double double. Christian Grosse also made a major impact on the game in his minutes in the second half. While Jonathan Levy worked through a 3 for 14 shooting night, the Ulm G played excellent defense in helping his team win. On the other side, Brandon Gay topscored for Trier with 17 points 6 rebounds while Danny Horace added 14 points 6 boards of his own. James Gillingham and Tommy Adams pitched in 12 points apiece and vet Chuck Evans posted 11 points 3 assists in his Trier debut.
The Taylor family was part of the Kuhberg crowd enjoying the game!
With the win, ratiopharm Ulm improves to 6-9 while Trier dips to 8-7. The victory certainly provides ratiopharm Ulm with a fitting cap to a fantastic year of 2006 which also saw the team earn promotion into the Bundesliga with a 2.Bundesliga South Championship.
Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm Bundesliga basketball all season long on Taylorhoops.com!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
GO ULM!
MIKE T
