TAYLORHOOPS.COM ULM UPDATE
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67
SKYLINERS EDGE ULM!
ratiopharm Ulm and Deutsche Bank Skyliners looked up at the Ballsporthalle scoreboard late in the game Saturday night as the teams were deadlocked in a 67-67 ballgame with 2:50 to play. Both teams had opportunities but Ulm's turnovers and Jimmy McKinney's three helped the Skyliners remain unbeaten at home in the exciting 74-67 win over ratiopharm Ulm January 15th in Frankfurt. Catching fire in his homecoming game, ratiopharm Ulm forward Robin Benzing topscored with 20 points 4 rebounds while Rocky Trice added 13 points 5 rebounds and Sebastian Betz contributed 11 points making 3 of 4 threes in excellent minutes from the bench. Center John Bryant produced 9 points with a game best 13 rebounds in the loss. The Bundesliga's leading scorer, Skyliner point guard DaShaun Wood was in top form with an outstanding 17 point 12 assist double double while Quantez Robertson added 14 points 6 boards for Frankfurt along with 12 points from Marius Nolte and 11 point from Jimmy McKinney in the win. Despite the loss, ratiopharm Ulm takes many positives from their performance as the team heads into the All Star Break this week.
ratiopharm Ulm huddles midcourt after their hardfought 74-67 road loss to the Deutsche Bank Skyliners Saturday night at Ballsporthalle in Frankfurt.
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Playing the Skyliners for the second time in 9 days, ratiopharm Ulm entered Ballsporthalle Saturday focused for an upset against the second place Skyliners who entered the game with a perfect 10-0 record at home. With confidence from their 87-82 home win over Frankfurt January 6th at Sportszentrum Kuhberg, ratiopharm Ulm was ready for the challenging road game in Frankfurt.
ratiopharm Ulm center John Bryant and Frankfurt forward Kimmo Muurinen vie for the tipoff Saturday evening at Ballsporthalle in Frankfurt.
Tipping off, Ulm center John Bryant won the tip but Deutsche Bank Skyliner post man Marius Nolte tracked down the loose ball. Nolte later finished the games opening possession with a pick and roll dive cut layup off a nice pass from teammate Kimmo Muurinen. Robin Benzing went to work on a post up finishing a turnaround jumpshot for ratiopharm Ulm's first points of the game. Bundesliga scoring leader DaShaun Wood got started early using a ballscreen to free himself at the top of the key for a three pointer. Frankfurt led 5-2. Rocky Trice respoded for Ulm hitting a strong driving pullup cutting the margin to 5-4. DaShaun Wood sliced through the Ulm defense for a finger roll finish pushing the Skyliners to a 7-4 lead at the 8:14 mark. Robin Benzing buried an 18 foot jump shot off an Ulm endline inbound play and the lead was cut to 7-6 by 7:20. John Bryant blocked a Chris Moss shot and Ulm defense stopped the Skyliners in a 24 second violation. After an Ulm offensive foul, Frankfurt's DaShaun Wood split a wing ballscreen and set up Moss for an easy layin giving the Skyliners a 9-6 advantage. Rocky Trice answered right back with a pullup jumper from the left wing for Ulm. Skyliners led 9-8. But Quantez Robertson used a shot fake to get Rocky off his feet and Robertson finished his move with a two hand jam energizing the Ballsporthalle crowd. Frankfurt led 11-8 at the 5:50 mark. Per Gunther drew a foul from a strong drive in transition and proceeded to sink two free throws bringing the score to 11-10. Quantez Robertson hit a left wing three pushing the hosts ahead 14-10. Moments later Jimmy McKinney sank a right wing three lifting the Skyliners to a 17-10 advantage. Chris Moss scored on a strong offensive rebound and put back pushing Frankfurt up 19-10 with 3:22 to go in the first quarter.
ratiopharm Ulm forward Robin Benzing gets hot early hitting this turnaround jumpshot from the left block on his teams first possession of the game.
Following four straight empty possession, ratiopharm Ulm used a timeout with 2:40 to go. Subbing in the bench, ratiopharm Ulm finished the first quarter strong. Out of the timeout, Ulm earned their second 24 second shot clock violation stopping the Skyliners to regain possession. Rocky Trice hit a tough turnaround shot with 1:53 in the first. Then Sebastian Betz buried a left wing three after excellent teamwork and ballmovement by ratiopharm Ulm. Skyliners led 19-15 with 1:19 in the quarter. A foul whislted from across the court sent Skyliner big man Chris Moss to the charity stripe where the recently signed post player made one of two. Ulm forward Coleman Collins curled a screen and finished at the rim with 37 seconds remaining. Frankfurt held a 20-17 lead. After a defensive stop, Ulm pushed the ball in transition and had an open look for three. Although the shot did not go down, Ulm retained possession for an endline inbound play with 10 seconds to play in the first quarter. From the inbound play, Ulm point guard Travis Walton used the clock and manuevered to the left elbow where the former Michigan State Spartan sank a momentum building first quarter buzzer beating pull up. Ulm trailed 20-19 at the end of one.
ratiopharm Ulm point guard Per Gunther attacks the basket Saturday evening as Skyliner's post man Chris Moss defends.
As quarter two began, Ulm took their first lead as Sebastian Betz made a strong backdoor cut and took a perfect pass from Coleman Collins for an easy layup. Roger Powell countered with a left wing three for Frankfurt and the Skyliners reclaimed a 23-21 lead. Jimmy McKinney followed with a shot clock beating left corner three pushing Frankfurt up 26-21 with 7:47 in the half. Coleman Collins split the Skyliners defense for a strong slam on the Ulm counter attack in transition. McKinney hit a nice elbow pullup for Frankfurt and the Skyliners led 28-23. Good Ulm ballmovement from a sideline inbound play found an open Rocky Trice for a left corner three cutting the score to 28-26 with 5:30 in the half. DaShaun Wood made a beautiful pass in a ballscreen setting up teammate Chris Moss for a two hand slam pushing Frankfurt ahead 30-26. Per Guntehr responded setting up teammate John Bryant for a dive cut opportunity that drew a foul. John stepped to the line and sank the first free throw pulling Ulm within 30-27. Although John missed his second, a hustling Robin Benzing tipped in the miss giving Ulm an unusual three point play cutting the game to 30-29 with 4:45 to go. Dominik Bahiense de Mello hit a tough baseline pullup pushing the Skyliners ahead. Per Gunther answered with a midlane pullup jumper of his own cutting the deficit to 32-31. After a defensive stop, Ulm's attack in transition resulted in excellent ballmovement that found Robin Benzing for a strong drive from the left wing. Benzing extended to finish a layup that gave Ulm a 33-32 lead with 3:24 in the half. Skyliners used a timeout.
ratiopharm Ulm played strong defense Saturday night against the Skyliners. Here, center John Bryant and forward Coleman Collins challenge new Frankfurt post man Chris Moss who finished 4 for 12 from the floor.
Out of the timeout, Ulm's defense came up again with another stop. Attacking in transition, Ulm's big man John Bryant received a beautiful lob pass in a pick and roll dive cut situation. Double teamed near the rim, John alertly zipped a post reaction pass to a wide open Robin Benzing on the left wing. Robin hit the three giving Ulm a 36-32 lead with 2:47 to go. Chris Moss finished at the rim for the Skyliners cutting Ulm's advantage to two. John Bryant cleaned up an offensive rebound for a put back basket giving Ulm a 38-34 lead with 1:56 in the half. Skyliner point guard DaShaun Wood went right down the gut of Ulm defense for an athletic layup at extension pulling his team within two. But it was Robin Benzing again hitting a top of the key three at the 1:33 mark giving Ulm a 41-36 advantage. Ulm earned two consecutive defensive stops but suffered two straight transition turnovers as they missed their chance to build on their lead. Finally, a DaShaun Wood steal and score cut the Ulm lead to three 41-38 with 32 seconds to go. Ulm used their second timeout. Organizing their play, Ulm attacked for the final shot of the first half. Point guard Per Gunther played in a ballscreen but reversed the basketball to teammate Robin Benzing. Playing an outstanding first half in his homecoming game, Robin drove strong into the lane and was blocked by strong Skyliner defense in his first attempt. Staying with the play, Robin recovered the loose ball and stepped through to finish off glass for two points. Ulm defense held strong again as Sean Sonderleiter grabbed the rebound that ended the first half.
ratiopharm Ulm's John Bryant rips down one of his game best 13 rebounds as Ulm's Sebastian Betz looks on.
Ulm had put together an excellent twenty minutes of basketball. On the offensive end the teams ballmovement and teamwork was terrific while the defensive end was also solid. Aside from the problems defending the DaShaun Wood ballscreens, ratiopharm Ulm could take many positives from their first half performance on both ends of the floor. Along with Robin Benzing's outstanding first half, Ulm received excellent production from the bench.
ratiopharm Ulm forward Coleman Collins closes out Deutsche Bank Skyliner point guard DaShaun Wood in the second half of Saturday nights action at Ballsporthalle in Frankfurt.
At the half, Ulm held a 43-38 lead. Robin Benzing was on fire playing in front of family and friends at Ballsporthalle in Frankfurt. The Jungenheim native from just outside Frankfurt, scored 16 points in the first half hitting 7 of 9 shots including 2 of 2 from three to ignite the Ulm attack. As a team, Ulm shot 55% from the field making 4 of 9 threes (44%) and 3 of 4 free throws (75%) while outrebounding the Skyliners 18-15. Not to be overlooked by Benzing's offensive output, guard Rocky Trice was also hot hitting 4 of 7 shots for 9 first half points for Ulm.
Ulm defense closes in on Skyliners guard Jimmy McKinney in Saturday evenings second quarter.
Opening the second half, Ulm allowed an easy basket as DaShaun Wood simply cut off a UCLA screen for an easy score. Marius Nolte scored in the lane and drew a foul. Making the free throw, Nolte evened the score at 43 by 9:06 of the third quarter. Following an Ulm turnover, Nolte drew a foul again this time making one of two. But the Skyliners reclaimed a 44-43 lead. Hardwork on the offensive glass was rewarded as Rocky Trice tipped in an offensive rebound regaining a 45-44 lead for Ulm. Quantez Robertson sank a right wing three retaking a 47-45 lead for Frankfurt. Sean Sonderleiter fed John Bryant with a beautiful high low pass and Bryants layin evened the score at 47 with 6:45 in the third. DaShaun Wood split another ballscreen for an easy layup giving the Skyliners a 49-47 advantage. Marius Nolte finished a Skyliner transition with a layin and Frankfurt took a 51-47 lead at 6:02. John Bryant was fouled on a post move and made both free throws bringing Ulm within two 51-49. Quantez Robertson took a nice feed from Wood and slammed home two more points for Frankfurt and the Skyliners led 53-49 at the five minute mark.
ratiopharm Ulm point guard Travis Walton organizes the attack while Skyliner guard Dominik Bahiense de Mello defends.
Ulm's Per Gunther drew a foul attacking the rim in transition and the fiery young pg sank two free throws pulling Ulm to 53-51 at the 4:08 mark. After an Ulm defensive stop, Sebastian Betz banked in a left wing three giving Ulm a 54-53 lead with 3:37 to go. But Roger Powell had the answer nailing a top of the key three to reclaim a 56-54 Skyliner lead with 3:20 in the third. Coleman Collins went strong to the basket drawing a foul but both free throw attempts rimmed out. DaShaun Wood split the Ulm defense for another driving score and Frankfurt led 58-54 with 2:40 to go. Roger Powell made one of two free throws for Frankfurt pushing the Skyliners up 59-54 with 2:25. Robin Benzing was fouled on a post up and the talented young Ulm forward converted one of his two free throws cutting the margin to 59-55. Basti Betz came up with a big steal but Ulm came up empty on the possession when a shot rimmed out. The Skyliners raced up the floor in a counter attack that Quantez Robertson finished with a two hand slam. Frankfurt led 61-55 with 1:50. Travis Walton finished in the lane for Ulm cutting the gap to 61-57 at 1:31. Robin Benzing tipped in an offensive rebound narrowing the gap further to 61-59 with 54 seconds in the third. Marius Nolte scooped in a bank shot in the lane giving the Skyliners a 63-59 lead with 31 seconds to go. Ulm's Coleman Collins found an open Sebastian Betz in the left corner and Basti's three cut the deficit to 63-62 at the end of three.
ratiopharm Ulm huddles during a timeout Saturday evening at Ballsporthalle in Frankfurt.
In the fourth quarter, Ulm and Frankfurt stepped up their defense. Marius Nolte opened scoring sinking two free throws extending the Skyliner lead to 65-62. No one could score until Frankfurt's Pascal Roller hit a pull up jumper from the left elbow giving the Skyliners a 67-62 lead at the 6:35 mark. Out of the timeout, Ulm's John Bryant grabbed a strong offensive rebound and scored on a stick back cutting the deficit to 67-64 with 5:53 to go. Robin Benzing drew a foul on a post up with 4:33 to play. Frankfurt called a timeout. Out of the timeout, Robin rimmed out his first free throw but bounced back to sink his second trimming the gap to two 67-65. Ulm defense dug in and came up with a strong stop powered by a John Bryant block. Earning another 24 second shot clock violation, ratiopharm Ulm had a chance to tie the game inbounding the ball with 4 minutes on the clock.
ratiopharm Ulm forward Coleman Collins and guard Lee Humphrey try to contain Frankfurt point guard DaShaun Wood.
In the next possessions, Ulm had several chances to tie the game. First, a well executed post touch play delivered the ball to John Bryant against the Frankfurt post front. Quadruple teamed on the block, John tried to pass out to teammate Per Gunther open on the right wing, but the ball sailed off line and out of bounds. Seconds later, as the Skyliners attacked, Ulm's Coleman Collins poked loose a steal triggering a 3 on 1 fast break. But Coleman's attempt to skip the ball to a streaking Per Gunther also sailed offline and out of bounds. Ulm was 0 for 2 on game tying possessions. But the team kept working. 3:41 remained. Ulm earned another defensive stop and held possession with 3:18 on the clock. This time, Per Gunther drove strong to the basket. Frankfurt defense stepped up as DaShaun Wood blocked Per's take. Ulm came up with another stop as Per recovered a loose ball and sprinted up court for another Ulm fast break. This time, Per fed a trailing Coleman Collins who slipped a nice pass to Rocky Trice behind the Skyliners defense. Rocky's layin tied the score with 2:50 to play. After three empty possessions, ratiopharm Ulm kept working and finally evened the score. The final minutes of the game were filled with hardwork from both teams and plenty of drama.
ratiopharm Ulm point guard Travis Walton looks to score against strong Skyliners defense from Marius Nolte.
Ulm's defense toughened up again. Deflecting the ball out of bounds late in the shot clock, Coleman Collins was very active defensively for his team. Skyliners held a sideline inbound play with six seconds on the shot clock and 2:32 in the game. On the ensuing inbound pass, Coleman deflected the pass and recovered the loose ball with a chance to change the game. Breaking away behind the defense, Coleman got his steps and rose up for a monster dunk. But a hustling Roger Powell defended the rim as he rose up to challenge and came up with a fantastic blocked shot keep the game even at 67. The athletic block brought the Ballsporthalle crowd to their feet as the Skyliners attacked with the chance to take the lead. But Ulm defense recoreded another strong stop as John Bryant grabbed the big rebound. Ulm had another chance with possession at the 2 minute mark. But a Per Gunther three rimmed out and the Skyliners regained possession with under 2 minutes to play. Ulm defense forced a late clock three from Wood which was offline, but the long rebound was recovered by Frankfurt's Quantez Robertson. Ulm dug in for another defensive possession. 1:30 remained. This time, Wood dribbled through the Ulm defense and hit a backdoor cutting Robertson for a reverse layup and a 69-67 lead. Ulm used a timeout with 1:22 to play.
ratiopharm Ulm in a second half timeout.
Unfortunately for Ulm, another errant pass led to another crunch time turnover. Inbounding the ball to center John Bryant, Ulm got a one on one post touch. Working to the middle against Moss with four fouls, John chose to pass out of the post across court to Per Gunther. But the pass was deflected and DaShaun Wood collected the steal starting a Skyliner fast break. 1:07 remained and Ulm dug in for a defensive stop. With 54 seconds, Coleman Collins poked loose yet another steal and Rocky Trice picked up the rolling loose ball. Ulm burst into a two on one. Organizing the attack, the ball found Per Gunther who used a ballscreen and passed to teammate Collins. Coleman made a strong move to the middle, spun, but his left hand finish banked hard off the board and rim. Skyliners held possession, up two, with 42 seconds. Ulm grit their teeth for another strong stop. DaShaun Wood dribbled down the clock then attacked using a Chris Moss ballscreen. Driving into the lane, Wood kicked the ball out to the left wing for an open Jimmy McKinney cutting behind the three point line. McKinney stepped up to hit the big shot giving the Skyliners a 72-67 advantage with 16 seconds on the clock. Ulm used their final timeout. As the night would go, out of the timeout, another bad pass led to a turnover that basically sealed the game. Ulm's inbound pass was deflected and stolen by DaShaun Wood with 15 seconds to go. With only two team fouls, Ulm needed to foul three times to send the Skyliners to the charity stripe. By the time Ulm reached five fouls and the bonus for Frankfurt, only 6 seconds remained. Fittingly, DaShaun Wood stepped to the line and iced the game with two late free throws. At the final buzzer, Deutsche Bank Skyliners earned a hardfought 74-67 home win over ratiopharm Ulm.
ratiopharm Ulm guard Rocky Trice challenges as Deutsche Bank Skyliner guard DaShaun Wood attempts to finish Saturday night at Ballsporthalle in Frankfurt.
As ratiopharm Ulm clapped for their fan block which gave the team tremendous fan support throughout the game, the team took many positives from Saturday nights game. Although they came up short in Frankfurt, ratiopharm Ulm looks to build on their progress to this point in the season and is very positive about the direction after 19 games. Reaching the all star break, ratiopharm Ulm can look back on their season to this point and see tremendous progress for their team. Taking Saturday nights performance in Frankfurt, Ulm has much more potential within the team and must continue to work on reducing their turnovers and becoming more efficient in game deciding minutes. But at this point of the season, Ulm's progress is clear and the team is positive about the second half of the season and what they can accomplish together.
ratiopharm Ulm guard Rocky Trice swipes the ball away from Skyliner post man Marius Nolte in Saturday nights game.
ratiopharm Ulm was led by Robin Benzing's 20 point 4 rebound performance in his homecoming game in Frankfurt. Rocky Trice added 13 points 5 rebounds and Sebastian Betz contributed 11 points making 3 of 4 threes in excellent minutes from the bench. Center John Bryant produced 9 points with a game best 13 rebounds in the loss. As a team, ratiopharm Ulm shot 45% from the floor making 6 of 15 threes (40%) and 9 of 14 free throws (64%). Ulm was edged on the boards 35-34 and suffered 17 turnovers in the loss. Meanwhile, Frankfurt hit 44% from the field including 8 of 24 threes (33%) and 8 of 11 free throws (73%). DaShaun Wood was in top form pacing the Skyliner attack with a 17 point 12 assist night while Quantez Robertson added 14 points 6 boards along with 12 points from Marius Nolte and 11 point from Jimmy McKinney in the win.
ratiopharm Ulm forward Robin Benzing claps to thank fans for their tremendous support during Saturday nights game at Ballsporthalle in Frankfurt. Robin was outstanding in his homecoming game as a large group of family and friends enjoyed the evening.
Looking ahead for ratiopharm Ulm, the team takes a break as the Bundesliga holds the 2011 All Star game Saturday January 22nd in Trier. Playing through Christmas and New Years, ratiopharm Ulm team takes a much needed week off before returning to practice after the all star weekend Monday January 24th in Ulm. Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm Bundesliga Basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com!
GO ULM!
MIKE T
