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2's WILD IN ULM'S 92-81 WIN OVER NORDLINGEN
Like a card game, 2's were wild. 2's were everywhere; Blue Two's 2's were on the walls, between bleacher railings and on white posters held by fans. At first glance, all the 2's made Nordlingen's Hermann-Kessler-Halle look like a Seasame Street lesson from the Count --- the Number Two. But for the two teams on the floor, Saturday nights game in Nordlingen really counted. Inspired by the motto "2 points for the 2.League", Nordlingen entered Saturday nights 2.Bundesliga South basketball game against ratiopharm Ulm with intense motivation to win and stay in the second league. But after storming to a 12 point halftime lead, Nordlingen fell victim to a second half comeback in an exciting 92-81 hardfought road win for ratiopharm Ulm. To Nordlingen, all the 2's meant two points to stay in the league; to ratiopharm Ulm, those 2's must have meant second place --- Ulm sealed up second place in the 2.Bundesliga South Saturday night improving to 22-5 with the win.
Nordlingen fans hold up #2 posters during player introductions Saturday night After working through a week of practice that saw several players hobbled, center Fannar Olafsson made his first start in a ratiopharm Ulm uniform Saturday night in Nordlingen taking the place of Maksym Shtein slowed by a nagginf foot injury. Immediately, Olafsson made an important impact on the action with excellent early screening for Ulm point man Shaheen Holloway and athletic shooting guard Peter Heizer. With big man Burkhard Shteinbach guarding him, Olafsson set solid screens freeing ballhandlers as Shteinbach sagged into the paint. From the strength of these ballscreens, ratiopharm Ulm started fast running to a 15-11 advantage. The fullcourt pressing and trapping defense created several turnovers and successfully slowed Nordlingen. When forward Florian Mobius picked up his second foul midway through the first, Ulm went to a five perimeter player lineup spreading the floor and searching out the best matchup to isolate and drive on. Shifting the tempo into overdrive with the smaller lineup, Ulm pushed the pace end to end ending the first quarter up 26-23. Between quarters, Nordlingen heach coach Zoltan Nagy inspired his troops. Facing a difficult finish to the season, Nordlingen knew how important these two points against Ulm could be in their race to stay safe in the second league. Scanning the stands, Nordlingen players saw 2's everywhere. More than a few of these two's must have stood for 2nd Quarter.
Ulm C Maksym Shtein, working vs. a double team, played hurt but still made big plays in the win Nordlingen caught fire. Caleb Gervin, Jurica Puljic and Kelubia Ekoemeye all hit three pointers in a Nordlingen run that thrust the emotional home team into the lead. Ekomeye's top of the key three forced an Ulm timeout as the home fans went into a frenzy with their team holding a 38-30 lead. Gervin and Puljic hit deep threes again and Nordlingen maintained a double-digit cushion. During the run, Ulm players relaxed and eased up on defense. Several players went for steals and gambled while others simply did not close out three point shooters effectively. Compounding the second quarter problems for Ulm were unforced turnovers and soft finishes which turned into empty possessions on the offensive end. When the smoke from the Nordlingen run cleared, Ulm went into the halftime lockerroom trailing 51-39 and facing an inspired, emotionally charged team. Halftime adjustments were simple. Ulm expected a passionate effort from Nordlingen and they got it. In fact, Ulm was fortunate to be down only 12. The combination of sloppy defensive play and unproductive offense created the hole. Specifically on defense, Ulm looked to gamble less, closeout better, blockout more and matchup better in their zone. Committment to better team defense was the answer. Meanwhile, offensively, the team discussed floor spacing, flashes into the high post, ballscreening and points in the paint. Final words in the room came in the form of a challenge to the team. As Ulm emerged from the halftime talk, their players still saw those 2's --- to them they must have meant second half. Although big Burgy Steinbach scored in the lane on the first possession, the third quarter was all Ulm. Returning to the game planned ballscreens, Shaheen Holloway got loose scoring inside and creating plays for others. Fannar Olafsson hit for two buckets in the paint off Holloway dimes. Ulm narrowed the deficit to 55-49. Sharpshooting Kenny Price drilled a three before forward Florian Mobius poked loose a steal and raced for a score. Behind the play, Jurica Puljic was hit with a technical foul and when Shaheen Holloway sank his two tech shots Ulm took the lead 58-55. The 19-4 Ulm run regained the lead by the mid-third and recaptured control of the tempo in the game. The 33-17 Ulm third quarter did the damage. Playing for their 2.League lives, Nordlingen fought back.
Fannar Olafsson prepares to ballscreen for Shaheen Holloway Entering the fourth with Ulm holding a slim 72-68 lead, it was still anybody's ballgame. But momentum had swung --- and Ulm would make it count. Turnovers and missed shots plagued the play for a short stretch and neither team could forge seperation. Kenny Price came up with a loose ball along the baseline and conveniently layed it in giving Ulm a 78-74 lead. Suddenly, as in Heidelberg before, Ulm guard Christian Grosse came up big. Holloway found the sharpshooting Ulmer on the left wing and in the right corner for big three balls when the team needed them the most. Beautiful teamwork and ballmovement resulted in Grosse's money balls that finally put some breathing room between Ulm and their hungry opponent. Up 83-75, Ulm continued to get defensive stops. When Puljic was hit with his second technical foul of the game just over one minute from the final horn, Ulm took advantage and iced the game from the foul line. By the time the final buzzer went off, Ulm walked off the Nordlingen floor with a hardearned 92-81 victory over the hardworking and hungry Nordlingen team. For ratiopharm Ulm, the true meaning for all the 2's was now clear --- they had offically wrapped up second place in 2.Bundesliga South play for 2004-2005.
Among the many key statistics, Ulm hit 25 of 29 free throws, outrebounded Nordlingen 35-31 and shot 52% from the floor compared to Nordlingen's 45%. Fittingly in a day 2's were wild, it was a 2 guard that sparked Ulm --- ratiopharm Ulm was led in scoring by Taylorhoops.com Player of the Game Peter Heizer's 22 points. Deuce's were wild. Heizer added 4 boards and 5 assists without a turnover to the win as he hit an impressive 10 for 11 from the charity stripe. Motivated by playing former Wurzburg teammates Burkhard Steinbach, Kelubia Ekoemeye and Jochen Bischoff who now play for Nordlingen, Heizer's offensive production and defensive effort were critical to Ulm's success. Shooting guard Christian Grosse's clutch three pointers (three for six) and outstanding 5 for 8 floor shooting sparked Ulm especially in the fourth quarter. Grosse finished with 13 points in 22 productive minutes. Point guard Shaheen Holloway directed the Ulm attack effectively posting 15 points and 6 assists in the win. Kenny Price also contributed several important baskets on his way to a solid 13 point performance. Center Maksym Shtein, who hobbled through 6 points and three rebounds before fouling out in 18 minutes of game time, made several big plays on both ends of the floor in the fourth quarter despite suffering from his injury. Nordlingen put five players in double figures including a team best 17 from Caleb Gervin and impressive double-double of 16 points 12 rebounds by power forward Michael Buse. Throwing more two's into the mix, Ulm earned their 22nd win of the season with the win. Now 22-5, Ulm returns home to meet the Crailsheim Merlins Saturday night at Sportszentrum Kuhberg for a 7pm tip. Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com! GO ULM! MIKE T
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