TAYLORHOOPS.COM ULM UPDATE
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ULM TRIPS IN TRIER!
ratiopharm Ulm celebrated their 103-66 playoff clinching home win Friday night over EnBW Ludwigsburg at Sportszentrum Kuhberg tipping off their exciting two game weekend, but were unable to complete the weekend sweep after tripping in Trier 82-63 Sunday evening on BBL.TV. Tied at 32 at the half, Trier built an 11 point lead through a third quarter run and cruised to the late season win. Rooke point guard Per Gunther paced ratiopharm Ulm scoring with a solid 14 point performance while Lee Humphrey added 11 and Romeo Travis 10. Sunday's loss in Trier was ratiopharm Ulm's final road game of the regular season and at 19-12, Ulm looks ahead to three home games before the Bundesliga playoffs tip off May 17th.
ratiopharm Ulm floor general Dru Joyce finger rolls a first half baseline drive Sunday at Trier Arena.
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ratiopharm Ulm's rookie forward Dan Fitzgerald spots up for a first half three Sunday at Trier Arena.
For ratiopharm Ulm, the emotional high of Friday nights fantastic playoff clinching win stood out as one of the highlights on the season. After almost three seasons of hardwork, ratiopharm Ulm earned their first playoff berth and the terrific home win gave the team and fans a great moment to celebrate together. But as ratiopharm Ulm boarded their team bus for their final road game of the regular season Sunday morning, the next challenge against a hot Trier team awaited.
ratiopharm Ulm sharpshooter Lee Humphrey hit two of three three point shots and finished with 11 points Sunday in Trier.
While ratiopharm Ulm sealed their playoff spot with Friday's home win, TBB Trier earned an impressive road victory over Telekom Baskets Bonn at Telekom Dome. Trier's road win kept their playoff hopes alive and entering Sunday's home game, Head coach Yves Defraigne and his team were 14-17 with back to back wins that left them in the mix with Paderborn, Artland and Ludwigsburg for the 8th and final playoff spot. While ratiopharm Ulm entered Sundays game at Trier Arena with the positive feeling of accomplishment, Trier desperately wanted to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
ratiopharm Ulm All Star Power Forward Jeff Gibbs extends for a fadeaway over former teammate Maksym Shtein in Sunday's action. Jeff scored 9 points and added 8 rebounds in the game.
Unfortunately for Ulm, pregame warmups provided a surprise and extra work for the teams excellent physio Andi Lacher. Unexpectedly, after the teams pregame pep talk, Jeff Gibbs tweaked his back and missed the first part of warmups while Andi treated the All Star. At the time, Ulm prepared for the possibility of playing without Jeff. But midway through warmups, Gibbs trotted through the tunnel and onto the floor to get ready. Unfortunately, on his way onto the floor, Jeff passed Ulm wing Sebastian Betz who was on his way back to the lockerroom after tweaking his back jumping up in layup lines. While Jeff was able to play, Basti's back problem kept him out of the game and inactive.
ratiopharm Ulm center Sean Finn pivots in the post against Trier forward Chris Copeland in Sunday's game.
At tip off, Ulm cracked the scoring column first as Dru Joyce fed Lee Humphrey for a quick transition three. Dru then sailed a perfect lob pass to Sean Finn for a dunk and Jeff Gibbs scored on an offensive rebound-putback. The teams exchanged baskets throughout the first quarter. Rookie point guard Per Gunther slashed to the basket for two scores and drilled a top of the key pullup J. But Trier kept pace and when Ulm's two last second attempts to score before the first quarter buzzer were off, Trier took a 12-11 lead into the quarter break.
ratiopharm Ulm rookie point guard Per Gunther topscored with career best 14 points hitting 5 of 6 shots in Sundays game at Trier Arena.
Quarter two started strong for Ulm as a Romeo Travis finished a backdoor play with a reverse layup and a defensive stop triggered a two on one give and go layup that Per Gunther finished for a 15-12 lead. After a Trier timeout, the hosts responded. Former Ulm center Maksym Shtein sparked a second quarter run finishing basket cuts for easy buckets. Ulm's lackadazical offensive play resulted in a perimeter oriented offense as the team settled for jumpshots and did not attack in the post. When Trier's Derek Raivio poked loose a midcourt steal and drove in for a breakaway bucket, Trier regained the lead Ulm called for a timeout to discuss their attention to detail and execution. But as Ulm players tried to turn it on, their rhythm was off. Jeff Gibbs worked to the middle and shot a fadeaway in the lane over former teammate Maksym Shtein. Unfortunately for Ulm, the ball rimmed out and Trier attacked. Trier edged ahead building a small lead late in the first half. Dan Fitzgerald sank a deep left wing three keeping Ulm close. Down three with one possession left in the first half, ratiopharm Ulm trapped a ballscreen and Jeff Gibbs stripped Trier guard Brian Brown causing a midcourt turnover. Recovering the loose ball, the Ulm All Star power forward raced up the floor to the rim and finished a powerful two hand-two foot slam through Brown's foul. Finishing the three point play with a foul shot with 1.3 seconds in the first half, Ulm had tied the score at 32.
ratiopharm Ulm's Jeff Gibbs battles Trier center George Evans on the block Sunday evening at Trier Arena. Evans, the former George Mason Patriot, finished with 19 points 7 boards 4 steals for Trier.
At the half, Ulm and Trier were even at 32 but Ulm's energy level was low and the teams attention to detail was dull. After Friday's fantsatic home win over Ludwigsburg, a game which saw Ulm play energized team defense, dominate the boards and hit 17 threes, Sunday's performance was a natural let down of a young team. Keeping things positive and staying patient with the team, Ulm's halftime discussion focused more on being the team to make the run in the second half than the first twenty minutes of action. Working to help the players understand about rising to the immediate challenge at hand and forget about last result positive or negative, Ulm players did everything they could to refocus themselves and find better energy in the second half.
ratiopharm Ulm forward Romeo Travis swoops under the rim for a reverse layup finishing a backdoor cut for an easy two.
As the second half opened, Ulm's small mistakes mounted. A defensive error switching a screen gave Trier a mismatch in the post, over compensating with help, Ulm's Jeff Gibbs rotated down in the paint leaving Trier's Chris Copeland open at the top of the key. Trier's George Evans fired a perfect post reaction pass to Copeland who sank an energizing three pointer giving Trier a 35-32 lead. Gibbs responded with an offensive rebound put-back to pull Ulm within 35-34. But on Trier's next possession, Norman Richardson snuck backdoor for an easy layup after another Ulm defensive breakdown. Soon after, a mishandled handoff was turned over as Derek Raivio did it again --- breaking away for another uncontested layup. Stopping the Trier run with a timeout, Ulm attempted to refocus before the game got away. Unfortunately out of the timeout, Ulm's Romeo Travis missed an open right corner three and back to back turnovers by Jeff Gibbs in the led to transition opportunities for Trier. In all, the 14-2 Trier run gave the hosts a 46-34 lead. Working to find a combination that could spark a counter-run, Ulm tried everything. Ulm's efforts to create a run were shortfused by simple defensive mistakes that led to easy Trier baskets. As the Ulm players tried to turn it on, the faced the wave of Trier momentum. At the end of the third, Ulm stared down an 11 point deficit 58-47.
ratiopharm Ulm point guard Dru Joyce defends Trier's Derek Raivio in Sunday's action.
In the fourth, Ulm simply could not put it together. Attempting to change the flow of the game with presses and zones, ratiopharm Ulm adjusted their attack. Trier's Jamal Shuler buried a right corner three against the Ulm zone and the game rolled on. Trier opened a 76-56 lead with five minutes to play. As both teams emptied their benches and the clock ran down in the 82-63 game, Trier earned their first win against ratiopharm Ulm after Ulm had won 6 straight meetings over the last 3 years.
ratiopharm Ulm's Romeo Travis rising up for an elbow J.
In the game, ratiopharm Ulm shot 36% from the floor making 7 of 19 threes (37%) and hitting 10 of 15 free throws (67%). Trier sank 47% including 5 of 19 threes (26%) and a perfect 7 of 7 from the charity stripe. A reflection of the two teams approach, Ulm --- one of the Bundesliga's best rebounding teams --- and Trier --- among the lowest rebounding squads --- finished even at 40 boards apiece. ratiopharm Ulm was led by rookie point guard Per Gunther who hit 5 of 6 shots to finish with a career high 14 points. Lee Humphrey sank two of three triples to add 11 and Romeo Travis chipped in 10. George Evans led Trier with 19 points 7 rebounds and 4 steals while Chris Copeland added 14 points 7 boards 7 assists along with 10 points apiece from Derek Raivio and Maksym Shtein.
On a weekend that saw ratiopharm Ulm seal their first Bundesliga playoff spot with a fantastic Friday performance, Ulm fell short of the weekend sweep tripping in Trier. Now 19-12, ratiopharm Ulm looks forward to Saturday's home game against Paderborn Baskets as they finish the regular season with three straight games at home. Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm Bundesliga Basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com!
GO ULM!
MIKE T
