Its 19-point lead was cut to 4, but the German club prevailed
Ulm's big first half was enough for a road win at Lietkabelis
Отчеты о матчах
3 Минутное чтение
Regular Season
Round 3 of 18
Regular Season
group b
Lietkabelis PanevezysLIE
9498
ratiopharm ulmULM
group b
Overview
l
l
w
w
w
w
When you are coaching the youngest team in the EuroCup, every game can be an adventure.
ratiopharm ulm displayed its wealth of talent as it exploded to a 42-61 halftime lead on the road at Lietkabelis Panevezys on Wednesday, but then came crashing back to earth in the second half. The visitors held on late to prevail 94-98 and remain undefeated through three EuroCup games.
"I thought we played a great first half, controlled the tempo, shared the basketball – 14 assists, only 2 turnovers at halftime. Sometimes when those things happen, you settle and think you have the game," head coach Ty Harrelson said after the game.
"I tried to tried to warn the team that this (Lietkabelis rally) could happen, that we need to be ready for it. And it's a learning experience for us. I think at this level, uh, the game's not over until the last horn. And, uh, we definitely have some things to keep working on."
With the game on the line, Ulm relied on some of its more experienced players. With the score 86-90, Christian Sengfelder blocked a Jamel Morris shot and then Mark Smith buried a clutch three-pointer at the other end with 1:02 remaining.
Christopher Ledlum paced the winners with 26 points and 5 assists, Tobias Jensen tallied 13 points and 6 rebounds and Bryce Brown added 12 points for Ulm. Kristian Kullamae, Morris and Augustine Rubit each scored 18 and Paulius Danusevicius posted a double-double for Lietkabelis, which dropped to 1-2 after suffering its first home loss of the season.
Jensen was the first player Harrelson singled out after the game, saying of the 21-year-old "stability-wise, Tobias Jensen's plus 15, he stuffed the stat sheet," referring to the +/- rating, in which he led the team. Jensen also played a team-high 29:18 minutes, which means that in the 10:42 in which he rested, Lietkabelis outscored Ulm by 11.
"When we took him out of the game, the game went the other way, so I needed to keep him on the court. He's playing a lot of minutes. It's difficult for him," Harrelson explained, before mentioning two more youngsters.
"I thought our young guys came in and played really well in the first half. Mohamed Diakate gave us a couple really good minutes, and Alec Anigbata as well. So, that's always important for us."
Diakate contributed 5 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 6:46, while Anigbata added 4 points in 5 and a half minutes.
Though Ulm's mandate is to give young players a place to shine, the team would not have prevailed without the scoring of Ledlum, who himself is only 24 and playing in just his seconds professional season.
“It was a joint effort. I think everyone on the team, our whole team played really hard. Each team went on a run and I'm glad we were able to hold on and get the win," Ledlum said modestly after the game. "That (26 points) just goes to my teammates, you know, they were able to find me in good positions, and I couldn't have done it without them.
"I love the way we play. Everyone shares the ball and we have fun playing. That's the best part about it."
Of course winning is also fun and Ulm is doing enough of that to share first place in Group B with Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse. Coach Harrelson and his cast of rising stars will look to keep rolling when they host Besiktas GAIN Istanbul next week.
