TAYLORHOOPS.COM ULM UPDATE
September 10, 2005
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ratiopharm Ulm tops Kaiserslautern in Soflingen KUSS game!
ratiopharm Ulm put six playes in double figures and drilled 6 of 9 three point shots in the second half to explode past a physical Kaiserslautern Red Devil team 107-97 Saturday night at ratiopharmhalle in the Soflingen KUSS game.
Ulm's Jeff Gibbs at the foul line
The newly signed ratiopharm Ulm backcourt made an impressive first impression on Ulmer fans. Shooting guard Jonathan Levy enjoyed a terrific home debut topscoring with 23 points and 9 rebounds while sinking 4 of 5 three pointers. The ultra athletic Levy also elevated for several exciting blocks on the defensive end. Meanwhile, point guard Martin Theusen --- sharp from his excellent play with the Danish National team over the first two weeks of September --- showed his skill and leadership ability against Kaiserslautern finishing with 20 points including a team best 5 from 6 from beyond the arc.
The win was not easy. From the tip, the physical frontcourt from Kaiserslautern established their presence in the paint. Red Devil big men David Arigbabu and center Stuart Robbins sealed strong for buckets and aggressively attacked the offensive glass. Small forward Michael Skender, a difficult matchup for opponents due to his size and skill, also made his presence felt with strong plays. But while Arigbabu, Robbins and Skender did the dirty work, Red Devil guards Tamien Trent and Derek Robinson got hot.
After a balanced and even first quarter, Kaiserslautern held a slim 30-28 lead. Both teams scored with relative ease in the up and down exciting first 10 minutes of action. It was during the second quarter that the Kaiserslautern guards began to make a difference. As both teams battled possession for possession in the close game, Tamien Trent showed off his super long-range shooting ability and complimented it with crafty spinning drives. Trent finished with 15 first half points including 3 for 6 from three. Meanwhile, shooting guard Derek Robinson sank 3 of 4 triples on his way to registering 13 first half points. Front court fouls began to hamper Ulm as both Jeff Gibbs and Florian Mobius were hit with their 3rd foul in the first half. Young prospect Antoinis Sivorotka entered the game and defended well while collecting 2 points and 1 board. Outscoring the visitors 24-23 in the second, Ulm cut the halftime deficit to one at 53-52.
Early action from the Soflingen KUSS game 2005
Despite trailing by one, Ulm felt good about their half. Making stronger plays, better defensive rebounding and improved coverage of the three point line when defending the ball one on one would all help push the team over the top. Kaiserslautern stayed just ahead of Ulm thanks to their excellent three point shooting (7-14 from three in the first half). The Red Devils also got to the foul line more than Ulm shooting 10-13 compared to Ulm's 5-7. Both coached could be pleased with the information this preseason game revealed about their respective teams.
With more hot three point shooting from Trent, Florian Moysich and Robinson sparked Kaiserslautern to a third quarter run. The Red Devils stayed just ahead of Ulm. Fouls became a problem for big men Maksym Shtein and David Arigbabu forcing backups to play key minutes. The teams traded baskets and took turns taking the lead as excitement began to build. Finally, in the last possession of the third quarter with Kaiserslautern holing a three point 80-77 lead, Ulm defense came up big. Jeff Gibbs played textbook low post defense forcing a Stuart Robbins miss. Gibbs coralled the rebound and zipped a quickoutlet to Ulm guard Christian Grosse with 7 seconds on the clock. Rushing to advance the ball upcourt, the hardnosed Ulm guard swerved from right to left just before the halfcourt line. Unfortunately, he lost the ball. Scrambling to recover the loss ball, Grosse grabbed at the rolling rock as Kaiserslautern guard Florian Moysich swooped in. Moysich came up with the basketball and took one dribble forward with one second remaining in the third quarter and let one fly from halfcourt.......good!
Rather than have a shot at the basket to end the third, Ulm faced the worst case scenario --- a turnover led to a halfcourt shot at the buzzer stretching the Red Devil lead to 6 at 83-77. Momentum clearly wore red and white at that time.
Regrouping the troops, focusing on the positives and reminding the team stick with the game plan, Ulm aimed to improve their defensive rebounding and do a better job guarding the three point line.
Ulm finally made their run in the fourth. Christian Grosse started the surge with a three pointer from the top. Grosse then fed forward Florian Mobius along the right baseline for a strong seal-to "and 1" finish in the paint. Martin Theusen returned to drill back to back three pointers and Jonathan Levy hit two trifecta's of his own in the run. Strong defensive stops and timely conversions pushed Ulm ahead. Ulm's 30-14 fourth quarter was enough to earn the win on the evening.
JONATHAN LEVY
Ulm's balanced scoring and teamwork helped spur the run in the fourth. Aside from Levy (23) and Theusen (20), Emeka Erege added 18 points, Jeff Gibbs went for 14 points 8 with rebounds, Maksym Shtein produced a 13 point 10 board double-double and Florian Mobius chipped in 12 points including big baskets in the fourth quarter.
Kaiserslautern's point guard Tamien Trent stole the show scoring a game high 32 points on sizzling 6 for 11 three point shooting. Backcourt partner Derek Robinson added a solid 20 points including 4 of 7 threes. Michael Skender (16) and David Arigbabu (12) also reached double figures for the Red Devils.
ratiopharm Ulm shot 58% from the floor (38-66) compared to 48% (34-71) for Kaiserslautern. Ulm hit 11 of 17 three point attempts for a sizzling 65% while the Red Devils countered with a hot 14 of 27 for 52%. Ulm hit 20 of 24 free throws (83%) compared to Kaiserslautern's 15-20 (75%). Ulm outrebounded Kaiserslautern 35 to 18.
The game provided both teams with plenty of areas needing attention. Both coaches were happy with their teams performance on the night and viewed the KUSS game as a quality test in the preseason.
ratiopharm Ulm returns to the practice floor monday night looking to work on several aspects of their defensive play as well as continue to fine tune their offensive system. The teams next preseason game will be Tuesday against Bayern Munich in Munich.
Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com!
GO ULM!
MIKE T
