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ULM'S WAVES INNUNDATE FREIBURG 109-73 In a unique adjustment, ratiopharm Ulm split their rotation into two teams of five two weeks ago hoping to spark production from several players and promote teamwork on both ends of the floor. Judging from Saturday nights performance, the waves of Ulm's substitution rotation seem to be building powerful momentum as the team attacked with two distinct styles and two different tempo's in a 109-73 flooding of USC Freiburg. When the ball went up for opening tip, two 7-2 teams that thrive in uptempo basketball squared off. But on this night, Ulm's fluid ball movement and teamwork spilled all over the Sportszentrum Kuhberg floor setting an exciting current with its fast pace, wetting the appetite of fans and sending Freiburg floating adrift.
Florian Mobius wheels baseline in the opening minutes against Freiburg. Ulm's first unit kicked off the game with intensity defending all over the floor and running the court in transition. Aggressive rotations lead to turnovers as Freiburg struggled against the pressure. Kenny Price and Michael Bree made heads up defensive plays resulting in early easy scores for Ulm. Excellent ball movement and focused execution on offense combined with energy on defense to give Ulm a 15-7 lead. At the five minute mark, Ulm's second wave checked in. Immediately, they attacked the offensive boards and played smashmouth, physical basketball in the paint. Antoine Sinclair returned to the lineup after missing two weeks with a twisted knee --- he made his presence felt in an instant relentlessly retrieving Ulm missed shots and giving second and third efforts with hungry play. Sinclair and Big Mike Niebling were tremendous on the boards on both ends. Rather than excelling in transition, Ulm's second unit ran simple, well executed set plays that gave bucket-getter Niki Arinze touches on the block. Arinze went to work scoring on a beautiful baseline reverse layup and a strong power move in the paint. Both Sinclair and Arinze displayed their teamwork with sharp passing between them.
Niki Arinze finishes this play with a smooth reverse layup. Arinze finished the game with 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting and dished out a team high 6 assists Although Ulm kept the action up offensively, a series of defensive breakdowns allowed Freiburg to climb back into the game. A fantastic transition team, USC Freiburg pushed the ball up the floor quickly getting several one on one situations for scorers Jordan Harris and Darnell Hinson. A Hinson triple and a Harris three point play sparked the visitors. A defensive miscue where Ulm left the basket unguarded gave Freiburg another gimme layup. Jef Tomesch sank a shot clock beating three against Ulm's zone. At the end of one, Ulm saw their lead cut to 4, 27-23. It was time for the first wave to re-enter --- this shift was high tide. Baskets from Maksym Shtein, Emeka Erege and Kenny Price broke the game open. Two first half three pointers from Emeka Erege and Kenny Price's perfect 5-5 floor shooting drowned Freiburgs defense. Soon the lead ballooned to twelve 43-31. Freiburg was treading water. A beautiful display of teamwork and ball movement, Ulm's first wave clicked playing their best basketball together all season. But the storm did not stop.
Antoine Sinclair powered his way to 14 points and 4 boards. He earned the Taylorhoops.com Player of the Game for his efforts. Christian Grosse stepped up to bury 2 first half threes and Antoine Sinclair's assult on the offensive boards continued. Ulm's second wave complimented the first and crashed into Freiburg like a hurricane. By the time Freiburg got their head above water, Ulm took a 52-35 lead into the halftime locker room. Ulm flooded the first half stat sheet with positives: 12 assists to 3 turnovers; shooting 52% from the floor and 5 of 10 from three land; outrebounding Freiburg 22-20 and holding Freiburg to 38% field goal percentage from the floor. After the up and down month of November, Ulm's hardwork was paying off. From the opening moments of the second half, the tidal wave of Ulm momentum grew. A 35-19 third quarter washed away any Freiburg hope. Ulm's 12-4 run starting the second half pushed the score to 64-39 and forced a Dr Ivan Vojtko timeout. Maksym Shtein's thunder dunk put an exclamation point on the Ulm surge which also saw Michael Bree sink a deep three ball from the left wing. After the Freiburg timeout, the visitors bounced back --- Darnell Hinson competed, Jordan Harris attacked and scored and forward Thomas Hruby hit shots. Slicing into the deficit, Freiburg fought against the resistence and gained momentum. At that point, Ulm changed units and changed the game.
Ulm defenders Maksym Shtein and Florian Mobius force a tough Freiburg shot. Already swimming against the current, Freiburg could not stay afloat with Ulm's subsitution wave and the undertow pulled them in. USC's ship sank in the third. After getting a rhythm against Ulm's zone, Freiburg failed to keep pace with Ulm's man to man tempo. Niki Arinze flashed his skills with scores and passes to cutting teammates. Michael Niebling finished two strong post moves inside and Christian Grosse hit his third three of the game. Ulm GM Thomas Stoll called this quarter "Dunk Time" because of slams from Shtein, Peter Heizer and Kenny Price. At the end of three, Ulm washed away any hope from Freiburg up 89-54. Finishing out the game, Ulm coasted to their 8th win of the season. Taylorhoops.com Player of the Game, Antoine Sinclair, provided an outstanding example of Ulm's efforts. The rookie forward scored 14 points and grabbed 4 rebounds as he capitalized on his playing time in the "Hockey subbing system". Kenny Price led the team in scoring for the 3rd straight game with 20 --- before the game Price was named Player of the Month for November by the Ulm fan club. . Niki Arinze and Maksym Shtein added 15 points apeice while Emeka Erege and Christian Grosse each put in 13. Michael Niebling was tough inside recording a team best 11 rebounds. For Freiburg, the triple H attack mustered the only effective numbers on the night: Hinson finished with 18, Harris 19 and Hruby 16. No other Freiburger reached double figures. The win was extra special for Ulm General Manager Thomas Stoll and forward Niki Arinze who celebrated birthdays on the December 4th evening.
Ulm's Kenny Price top scored for the 3rd straight game with 20. Prior to tipoff Price was named Ulm Player of the month for November by the Ulm fan club. Alone in second place at 8-2, ratiopharm Ulm returns to action with a double dip next weekend when they travel to Chemnitz for a friday night game before returning home to host Nordlingen in the teams final games before the Christmas holiday break. Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com! GO ULM! MIKE T
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