TAYLORHOOPS.COM ULM UPDATE
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ULM'S COLD NIGHT!
With snow falling outside in Bonn over the weekend, temperatures dropped in the former West German capital city. Sunday evening, Ulm's ballmovement nearly froze and the teams offense went cold in an 82-59 road loss at Telekom Dome in Bonn. As Bonn capitalized on several Ulm defensive breakdowns, the hosts put together a late first half run building a 42-31 lead. Missing ballmovement, Ulm's offense sputtered to 5 assists for the game and 28 points in the last twenty minutes as Bonn broke the game open hitting 6 of 11 threes in the second half. Coleman Collins led Ulm's attack with 16 points 9 boards in the loss. Like the winter temperature dip, Ulm's season of highs and lows continued with a cold night in Bonn.
ratiopharm Ulm's Per Gunther and John Bryant take the loss to Telekom Baskets Bonn hard as the team huddles on floor Sunday evening at Telekom Dome in Bonn.
click here for Box score
click here for Bonn photo gallery from Ulm @ Bonn
click here for Bonn photo gallery 2 from Ulm @ Bonn
click for Post Game Press Conference
Sunday evenings convincing 82-59 road loss in Bonn extends a string of Ulm fell 94-66 at Telekom Dome November 8th, 2008. Later in the playoffs, Ulm fell twice losing Game 1 71-62 Sunday May 17, 2009 and then again 82-68 Sunday May 24, 2009 in Game 3. Before the games at Telekom Dome, Ulm came up short at Hardtberghalle 82-77 January 26th, 2008 and 87-75 November 17th, 2006. Adding Sunday's loss, Ulm is now 0 for 6 in road trips to the former capital city of West Germany.
ratiopharm Ulm post man Coleman Collins and Telekom Bonn guard Bryce Taylor battle for a loose ball in Sunday evening action at Telekom Dome in Bonn.
At tip off, Ulm came up empty on their first few possessions going over two minutes before Christian Burns cracked the scoring column on a strong inside finish. While Ulm's offense started slow, Bonn built an early lead. Tim Ohlbrecht scored on a strong post move in the paint earning an old-school three point play in the lane. Bonn's Bryce Taylor and Jared Jordan attacked the Ulm defense and created plays. After a transition three gave Bonn a 12-3 lead, ratiopharm Ulm huddled for a timeout with 4 minutes remaining in the first quarter. In the first few minutes, Ulm's decision-making on the offensive end short-circuited their attack. But out of the timeout, Ulm responded with an 11-6 finish to the opening ten minutes and Bonn took an 18-14 lead at the break. A Robin Benzing three pointer from the wing gave ratiopharm Ulm momentum after their slow start in the first quarter.
Christian Burns works to finish in the lane as Bonn's Patrick Flomo challenges the shot Sunday evening at Telekom Dome in Bonn.
As Quarter two action picked up, Ulm fought back into the game. Rocky Trice hit a pullup J and found Coleman Collins for an alley oop slam inspiring the Ulm effort. Ulm pulled within one at 20-19. Bonn responded with rebuilding a 25-22 lead at the five minute mark of the second. Ulm's Coleman Collins finished strong trimming Bonn's lead to two 28-26. The game remained tight until the two minute mark of the first half as Bonn held a 33-31 advantage. At this point, simple defensive breakdowns in transition basket coverage and rotations cost Ulm. Bonn capitalized with a 9-0 run finishing the first half with a 42-31 lead.
ratiopharm Ulm point guard Per Gunther works in a Ballscreen as Bonn's JJ Strasser defends.
At the half, Ulm faced an eleven point deficit. After working their way back into the game following their slow start, ratiopharm Ulm late second quarter defensive breakdowns put them in a hole. In the first twenty minutes Ulm had shot 37% from the floor making 1 of 6 threes (17%) and 10 of 16 from the foul line (63%). Bonn outrebounded Ulm 19-17 on the boards and turnovers were basically even with Ulm at 7 and Bonn with 6. The hosts hit 52% of their shots making 3 of 7 threes (43%) along with 7 of 9 free throws (78%). Bonn tallied 24 points in the paint to Ulm's 14 as Bryce Taylor finished drives strong for 13 points and Jared Jordan produced 11 points in the first half. Even though Bonn played without physical inside players Chris Ensminger and John Bowler, Bonn big men Tim Ohlbrecht, Patrick Flomo and Alex King combined for 6 for 9 shooting and 11 rebounds with physical, energizing play.
ratiopharm Ulm post man John Bryant boxes out Bonn big man Tim Ohlbrecht.
As the second half opened, Ulm focused to cut into the gap. Rocky Trice hit back to back buckets, but Bonn made plays to maintain their lead. Meanwhile, Ulm suffered 9 turnovers in the third quarter and sank only 2 of 9 three point attempts. Bryce Taylor drilled a three giving the hosts a 47-35 advantage with 7 minutes remaining in the quarter. As the game set for free throw attempts in front of the Ulm bench, Head coach Mike Taylor took a technical foul from official Max Kintervater. Hoping to spark a rally, Ulm could not make up any ground as Bonn finished the quarter strong taking a 62-47 lead into the fourth. A key factor in Ulm's offensive struggles was the teams lack of ballmovement. Through three quarters, the Ulm offense had produced a total of 3 assists.
Ulm defense struggled to contain Bonn's Bryce Taylor in Sunday's action. Here, Taylor splits the gap as Robin Benzing (left), John Bryant (right) and Lee Humphrey (back) defend.
Ulm's efforts in the fourth sank into frustration as Bonn's bench broke the game open with excellent three point shooting from JJ Strasser and Artur Kolodziejski. While Ulm's offensive attack continued to result in one on one forced drives, the Bonn lead swelled to the delight of the Telekom Dome crowd. With the result clear, Ulm rotated the bench into the action and agonizingly finished off the game. Bonn's 20-12 fourth quarter sealed the win and continued the regular routine of forcing ratiopharm Ulm struggles in Bonn. At the final buzzer, Ulm could only shake their head in disappointment at their lack of ballmovement on offense and breakdowns on defense. The 82-59 result was a clear Bonn victory and the next low point in Ulm's up and down season.
ratiopharm Ulm was led by Coleman Collins who finished with 16 points 9 rebounds while Rocky Trice added 11 points 7 boards and Austen Rowland chipped in 10 points in the loss. Ulm shot 40% from the floor making only 3 of 14 threes (21%) and 14 of 24 free throws (58%) while Bonn hit 48% from the field including 9 of 18 threes (50%) and 15 of 24 free throws (63%). Ulm outrebounded Bonn 39-31 in the game. A key statistic on the evening, Ulm dished out 5 assists while suffering 19 turnovers in the loss. For Bonn, Bryce Taylor topscored with 19 points 6 rebounds while Tim Ohlbrecht added 15 points 8 boards, Jared Jordan had 13 points and JJ Strasser totaled 11 points on 3 for 4 three point shooting. Former Ulm guard Artur Kolodziejski drilled all three of his threes for 9 points against his old team.
ratiopharm Ulm returns to the practice floor Tuesday as the team looks ahead to their next home game against MiddleDeutscher Basketball Club Saturday night January 9th, 2010 at Sportszentrum Kuhberg in Ulm. Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm Bundesliga Basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com!
GO ULM!
MIKE T
