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ULM MAKES HISTORY WITH BIG WIN IN HEIDELBERG! Fueled by intense team defense and hot shooting in the second half, ratiopharm Ulm overcame USC Heidelberg 76-64 Sunday afternoon in 2.Bundesliga basketball action at Olympiastutzpunkt in Heidelberg. A strong minded team defensive effort made the difference in the second half and Christian Grosse came up big off the bench sparking Ulm to their important victory. Ulm's win means a sweep of the season series from Heidelberg and clear control of second place in 2.Bundesliga South standings --- the team improves to 17-4 on the season while Heidelberg fell to 15-6. Also making history for the Ulm organization, the team recorded their first road win in Heidelberg in 2.Bundesliga South play. Battling in a big game, both teams came out defensive minded opening in man to man defense in a halfcourt tempo. Turnovers and missed shots balanced themselves out as the teams tied through several stages of the first quarter. From 4-4 to 8-8, Ulm and Heidelberg seemed to be pacing themselves or sizing each other up like two title contenders in a boxing ring. At the end of one, judges had Ulm and Heidelberg even on the scorecard and tied on the scoreboard at 17.
Ulm's Maksym Shtein (at the line) lead the team with 17 points and 7 boards Playing in front of a large home Heidelberg crowd, the red and yellow gained momentum in a second quarter spurt that gave them control of the game. Poor offensive execution slowed Ulm down during this early phase. Players pounding the dribble, slow entry into sets, perimeter oriented possessions and simply missed shots allowed Heidelberg to edged ahead. On certain possessions, Ulm did not manage the clock or situations well. For example, players forced plays early in the shot clock leading to turnovers or poor passes. Ultimately, with 12 seconds remaining in the first quarter, looking to get the last shot, Ulm executed a ballscreen play but failed to get a shot off when Christian Grosse did not know the clock --- it would be one of the few mistakes the young Ulmer guard would make in the game. Big shots from Nicolai Iversen and Simon Cassell sparked the run. Over the 2 minute span, Heidelberg jumped to a 26-19 lead. During the run, Ulm did not help themselves defensively. Ulm defenders momentarily lost shooters in transition, were beaten in transition and settled for non-game planned matchups settling for the easy way out. For instance, on one possession, Ulm mishandled a ballscreen resulting in a switch leaving Shaheen Holloway defending power forward Armin Leber on the block. Fortunately, Heidelberg failed to capitalize. Unfortunately, Ulm was outscored 21-14 in the second quarter. Although the team executed the defensive game plan well, there seemed to be something missing. Whatever it was, Heidelberg took advantage and took a 7 point lead (38-31) into the halftime lockerroom. Adjustments would be key. Down 7, Ulm duscussed their performance openly and honestly. Although Ulm players executed the defensive game plan well, the first half was played below maximum defensive intensity. Although Ulm kept pace offensively, execution and efficiency were sub standard resulting in an abundance of one on one play. Heidelberg had played ok in the first half, but it was more about what Ulm was not doing. The home team shot 56% in the first half while Ulm hit only 42% from the floor. Heidelberg had also outrebounded Ulm 14-11 in the first 20 minutes. Looking to turn up the intensity, a spirited halftime message was sent. Getting to the point: this game was served up on a plate for Ulm to win but they had failed to seize the opportunity.
Strong second half team defense sparked Ulm's win. From the opening inbound of the second half, Ulm began to turn the momentum. Maksym Shtein scored off and offensive rebound igniting emotion. Ulm players brought tremendous defensive intensity. Price and Erege denied shooters. Holloway contanied Taylor one on one. Big men Maksym Shtein and Florian Mobius battled inside. Soon Ulm trimmed into the lead. Early in the third, athletic Heidelberg power forward Brett Buscher powered through Mobius in the paint knocking the Ulm defender to the floor with an elbow. Buscher swiftly stepped over Flo finishing a strong lay up through a Maksym Shtein foul reasserting Heidelbergs lead. Mobius left the game with a fat lip, chipped teeth and a bloody grill. Ironically, it seemed to spark Ulm. Playing their small lineup game, Ulm attacked and pressed during a key stretch in the third quarter. Slowing the tempo and eating into the shot clock, Ulm registered defensive stops that triggered their running game. Shaheen Holloway was key in distributing the ball, executing in transition and controlling tempo. Big baskets from Erege, Price and Holloway himself spurred Ulm on. Finally, from a lay in by Erege, Ulm regained the lead. The teams traded baskets like jabs, searching for a knockout blow. Building on the momentum of their perimter lineup and changing defenses, Ulm fought back into the game with a strong 20-14 third quarter and found themselves trailing 52-51 entering the fourth. Staying defensive minded and physical, both teams prepared for a big game possession for possession battle. Minutes into the 4th, Ulm's Peter Heizer and Heidelberg's Simon Cassell got tanlged up on the left wing. As Heizer cut to get open, Cassell cut him off --- the two locked arms. Flailing to get free, the athletic Ulm guard blatantly pushed Cassell who dramatically flopped attacting attention. Immediately whistled, referees awarded Heizer an intentional foul giving Heidelberg a free throw plus possession of the ball. Frustrated at the call, making his case, the disgruntled Heizer let the referees hear his displeasure. Needing to cool off and regain focus, Mike T quickly inserted Christian Grosse into the game. Suddenly momentum swung. Flashback to last seasons 30 point loss in Heidelberg --- a game that saw Heidelberg break the game open in the second half. Remind yourself that Ulm had never won in Heidelberg since being relegated into the 2.Bundesliga four years ago. Consider the fact that fair-weathered fans gave Ulm no chance to win in Heidelberg with recent road form. Shooting free throws, Heidelberg held possession and control. Combine that with history and Heidelberg had a stacked deck ready to unveil another royal flush in front of their full house --- but Ulm held the wildcard. Christian Grosse came up big during Ulm's 15-5 fourth quarter run that broke the game open. The young Ulmer guard buried big baskets pushing his team over the hump. Grosse drilled a corner three to start his scoring, curlled off a screen to the top of the key for a mid range J, sank a second corner three and ran out for a breakaway bucket in crunch time. In a flash of brilliance, Christian scored 7 straight points regaining a 60-56 Ulm lead. After staggering through early rounds, it was Christian Grosse who delieverd the knockout blow in the game with his outstanding marksmanship. Feeding from big basket momentum, Ulm raced further ahead opening their first double digit advantage 70-60 with 3:42 to play. The run capped at 14 (75-61) with 1:25 left. Fans filed out as the final buzzer sounded on Ulm's impressive 76-64 win. Taylorhoops.com Player of the Game Christian Grosse was perfect from the floor hitting all 6 of his shots including 3 for 3 from three point range. Among Ulm's key performers, special mention should be given to Shaheen Holloway who played extremely well despite severe stomach sickness. Defending Heidelberg point guard Ronnie Taylor, the 2.Bundesliga 2nd best scorer averaging 23ppg entering the evening, Holloway limited Taylor to 11 points in the game. Sha also controlled tempo expertly while making important plays (such as finding hot shooting Grosse) in the game breaking run. Emeka Erege was also in fine form on both ends of the floor scoring 16 points with 6 boards while playing solid defense against skilled forward Nicolai Iversen. A third prime time player for Ulm was Kenny Price who hit for 12 important points and tied for team best 7 rebounds while suffocating Heidelberg's excellent three point threat Erik Dordal limiting him to an 0-3 from the floor 2 point scoring line. Finally, Maksym Shtein topscored for Ulm with 17 points with 7 boards. Most important, Ulm's defensive intensity picked up in the second half sparking their game breaking run. The team played with passion and road the surge of energy to the big road win. Making their own history, the victory marks the first Ulm 2.Bundesliga win in Heidelberg. Ulm reversed the games shooting percentages in with strong D in the second half --- Ulm shot 53% from the floor for the game while holding Heidelberg to 42% (nearly inverse of first half numbers). Ulm also outrebounded Heidelberg 30-22 for the game including 19-8 in the second half. Clearly Ulm turned the tables on Heidelberg in the second half. Neither team recorded many assists with Ulm posting 2 and Heidelberg 3 for the game (likely more a result of poor statistics than poor play). Next up for ratiopharm Ulm, league leading RCE Falke Nurnberg brings their unbeaten record to Sportzentrum Kuhberg putting their perfect season on the line. Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm baketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com! GO ULM! MIKE T
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