ratiopharm Ulm led from start to finish in recording an 84-68 victory over Virtus Segafredo Bologna on Tuesday evening. The hosts also outscored Virtus in all four quarters for a convincing victory that lifted its record to 6-5. The result saw Ulm match Virtus (6-4) on wins and take the head-to-head tiebreaker between the teams; Virtus defeated Ulm by 11 when they met in Round 2.
Blossomgame helps Ulm blast Virtus, 84-68
Jaron Blossomgame starred with 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead Ulm. Semaj Christon tallied 14 points, 7 assists and 3 steals, Thomas Klepeisz missed just 1 shot in accumulating 12 points, Sindarius Thornwell amassed 10 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals and Cristiano Felicio added 9 points and 13 rebounds. Amedeo Tessitori and Kyle Weems led Virtus with 14 points apiece and Marco Belinelli scored 13 in defeat.
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Christon got the hosts on the scoreboard first before Weems answered with a layup for Virtus. Virtus struggled to get going on offense while Karim Jallow scored 6 points in a 10-0 Ulm run to lead 12-2 after 5 minutes. Jakarr Sampson ended the Virtus drought, but a jumper by Thornwell stretched the lead to 12. Belinelli stepped up with a triple and an assist to Tessitori to keep Virtus from falling further behind. Strong play by Mam Jaiteh at both ends made it 22-15 after 10 minutes.
Tessitori made a three-pointer and a put-back before Belinelli’s steal led to a Jaiteh dunk that made it 24-22. After a timeout, Christon revived the Ulm attack and Felicio dunked after Thornwell’s steal to give the hosts a cushion. Jallow followed his own missed three for a layup and Thornwell buried Ulm’s first three of the night for a 35-26 cushion. Weems also followed his own miss for a layup before Felicio and Thornwell teamed to restore a double-digit lead for Ulm. After Weems converted a three-point play on the offensive glass, Klepeisz and Belinelli traded threes. Another triple by Blossomgame to end the half made it 45-34 at the break.
Christon scored for Ulm first in the second half before Amar Alibegovic and Weems buried back-to-back threes and Jaiteh dunked to bring the visitors within 47-42. After an Ulm timeout, Christon scored and Klepeisz took a steal in for a layup. A three by Philipp Herkenhoff restored a double-digit advantage, 54-44. Weems and Belinelli did their part to keep the visitors in the hunt, but Ulm had answers through Blossomgame before Fedor Zugic buried a three to make it 61-48. The lead reached 15 before Tessitori’s three-point play ended the third quarter at 63-51.
Isaia Cordinier kept Virtus in the hunt with a layup and an assist to Ty-Shon Alexander for a triple that made it 65-56. After a timeout, Klepeisz and Blossomgame ensured Ulm remained in control and a three by Thornwell seemed to take the wins out of Virtus’s sails at 73-56 with 5 minutes to go. A Thornwell-to-Blossomgame alley-oop all but put the finishing touches on the win. The lead reached its highest point, 21, twice. Led by Alibegovic, Virtus gave a late chase to potentially get the head-to-head tiebreak advantage between the clubs, but a triple by Marius Stoll – his first-ever EuroCup points – ended those hopes for the visitors, too.