– David Hein
This week saw ratiopharm ulm veteran Per Günther join the 4,000 point club in the easyCredit BBL - one of only 13 players to do so and only three now active. s.Oliver Würzburg came back from 20 points down to win while MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg remained perfect at home.
In this section, we break out our English language skills and inform you about the latest news from the German easyCredit Basketball Bundesliga. If you’re short on time but still want your fill of Germany’s top basketball league then you are in the right place. Every week David Hein (www.heinnews.com) brings you up-to-date in German basketball – the easyCredit BBL short and sweet:
Ulm win at home over MBC for third straight victory
ratiopharm ulm is starting to find a rhythm and picked up their third straight victory as they defeated SYNTAINICS MBC 96-80 at home. Ulm took over with a 29-16 second quarter, in which MBC also lost their coach Björn Harmsen, who was ejected from the game. Ulm’s winning streak has them at 6-6 in the standings while MBC have dropped two straight and are 2-10. Ulm shot 53.3 percent from the floor including 60.0 percent from two-point range and 21-of-24 free throws (87.5 percent) while holding MBC to 43.8 percent shooting. Zoran Dragic paced Ulm with 22 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists while Grant Jerrett had 15 points and 6 rebounds and Killian Hayes picked up 14 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Andrew Warren was MBC’s main weapon with 18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals while David Brembly contributed 14 points and Kaza Kajami-Keane tallied 14 points, 3 rebounds and 8 assists.
Per Günther joins the 4,000 point club
Per Günther reached a milestone in ratiopharm ulm’s win over SYNTAINICS MBC as the veteran point guard scored 8 points - to go with 5 assists - in passing the 4,000 career point mark in the easyCredit BBL. Günther moved into the 4,000 point club in the fourth quarter of the game and he joins Rickey Paulding and John Bryant as only the third active player with that many points in the league. Only 13 players have scored 4,000 points in the German league.
Würzburg bounce back from nightmare start, beat Crailsheim in OT
s.Oliver Würzburg bounced back from a nightmare first quarter to end up beating HARKO Merlins Crailsheim 92-88 in overtime at home (Highlights). Crailsheim built a 20-point lead in the first frame and were still up 55-42 at the break. The game was even the second half and Quincy Ford made just one of two free throws with 16 seconds left allowing Cameron Wells to even the game with a layup with 1.7 seconds to play in regulation. Wells split two free throws with 20 seconds to go for a 90-88 lead and Florian Koch provided the game winner with 7 seconds remaining. Würzburg improved to 7-5 with two wins in the last three games while Crailsheim have dropped three straight and five of six to fall to 6-5. Wüzburg won the rebound battle 48-30 - including 17 offensive boards - to offset 19 turnovers. Wells led the way with 25 points and 4 assists, Koch had 16 points with 4 three-pointers and 5 rebounds and Junior Etou chipped in 14 points and 6 rebounds. Javontae Hawkins paced Crailsheim with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, Maurice Stuckey had 17 points with 5 three-pointers and 4 rebounds and Aaron Jones picked up 16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 6 steals.
Braunschweig end losing streak with overtime victory in Frankfurt
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig snapped their four-game losing streak by coming back for an 82-81 victory in overtime at FRAPORT SKYLINERS (Highlights). Frankfurt blew a 17-point third quarter lead and the end of regulation was thrilling with Quantez Robertson nailing a three-pointer to make it 74-71 with 30 seconds left only to see Trever Releford answer with a long ball 7 seconds later to even things. The game went to overtime when Richard Freudenberg’s tip-in came just barely after the final buzzer. In the extra session, Lamont Jones gave the hosts the lead 81-77 before a Lucca Staiger three-pointer and two game-winning free throws by Releford with 13 seconds left. Braunschweig moved to 5-5 while Frankfurt are 4-7 after losing three of their last four games. Braunschweig committed only 11 turnovers and hit 40.7 percent on three-pointers compared to 16 turnovers and 38.9 percent on three-balls for Frankfurt. Releford scored 14 of his 28 points within 3:17 minutes in the third quarter and also had 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. Thomas Klepeisz picked up 12 points and 4 assists and Scott Eatherton scored 11 points. Leon Kratzer led Frankfurt with 16 points and 9 rebounds while Joe Rahon had 16 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals and Richard Freudenberg contributed 14 points, a career high 12 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Willkommen im Club der 4️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣er! Unser Kapitän @GuntherPer erzielt einen weiteren @easyCreditBBL-Meilenstein & knackt als 13. Spieler überhaupt die Marke von 4000 Punkten! #uuulmer #weareone #easyCreditBBL pic.twitter.com/NsRvRFoUrS
— ratiopharm ulm (@ratiopharmulm) December 21, 2019
Ludwigsburg remain perfect at home, hold on against Bayreuth
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg remained perfect at home this season as they held off a tough fight for an 89-84 victory over medi bayreuth. Ludwigsburg looked to take control with a 12-0 run early in the fourth quarter only to see Bayreuth punch back with a 12-0 run of their own. Jaleen Smith proved to be the game winner with three free throws in the final 22 seconds as well as a steal which resulted in James Robinson committing an unsportsmanlike foul with 8 seconds left. Ludwigsburg are now 6-0 at home and 10-2 in total while Bayreuth have dropped two straight and fell to 4-7. Ludwigsburg committed only 8 turnovers while grabbing 14 offensive rebounds and forcing 14 Bayreuth turnovers. Smith finished with 22 points with 5 three-pointers while Marcos Knight collected 22 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists and Nick Weiler-Babb added 18 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Andi Seiferth tied a career high with 27 points to go with 6 rebounds and 4 assists for Bayreuth, who also had James Woodard chipping in 18 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.
Ludwigsburg add punch in blocks with Cameron Jackson signing
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg added some needed punch in the middle as they signed center Cameron Jackson on a deal until the end of the season with an option for an additional year. The 23-year-old Jackson comes from SYNTAINICS MBC and joins Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann and Ariel Hukporti in the low blocks in Ludwigsburg.
Second quarter run enough as Bayern brush past Giessen on road
Reigning champs FC Bayern Munich used a big second quarter run to coast to an 82-70 victory at JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers to remain perfect in the easyCredit BBL (Highlights). Bayern went on a 21-0 run to win the second quarter 25-8 in moving to 12-0. Giessen have lost two of their last three and are now 4-7. Giessen shot just 36.6 percent for the game including 23.3 percent from long range while Bayern shot 50.8 percent for the game. Danilo Barthel paced five Bayern players in double figures with 13 points and 5 rebounds while Mathias Lessort had 13 points and 9 rebounds, Petteri Koponen scored 12 points and Maodo Lo tallied 11 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. John Bryant led Giessen with 15 points and 12 rebounds, Teyvon Myers picked up 13 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals and Stephen Brown chipped in 7 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks.
Berlin too much on road for Hamburg
ALBA BERLIN proved too much for promoted Hamburg Towers as they pulled away for a 100-75 road victory (Highlights). Berlin never trailed but did not blow the game open until the end of the third quarter in picking up their fourth straight win to move to 9-2. Hamburg had just snapped a losing streak but are still winless at home at 0-5 and 2-9 overall. Hamburg shot just 43.3 percent from two-point range and turned the ball over 18 times while Berlin hit 53.8 percent from the field and committed only 7 turnovers. Six Berlin players scored in double figures, led by Rokas Giedraitis who nailed 6 three-pointers in scoring 22 points. Landry Nnoko had 13 poitns and 8 rebounds and Martin Hermannsson collected 12 points and 8 assists. Heiko Schaffartzik was Hamburg’s leading scorer with 15 points on 5-of-11 three-point shooting while Yannick Franke tallied 14 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists and Jorge Gutierrez added 13 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.
Göttingen end two-game skid, keep Bonn winless on road
BG Göttingen ended a two-game losing streak with an 80-77 home victory over Telekom Baskets Bonn, who are still looking for their first win on the road. Göttingen failed to hold a 10-point lead in the third quarter though Kyan Anderson drained a three-pointer to make it 78-76 with 45 seconds left. Branden Frazier could only split two free throws and Anderson followed with two free throws for the final scoreline as Frazier missed his potential game-tying three-ball. Göttingen improved to 3-8 while Bonn dropped to 2-8 overall and 0-5 on the road. Göttingen hit 60.0 percent on two-pointers while turning it over only 11 times while Bonn was 47.2 percent from inside the three-point line and committed 15 turnovers. Anderson nailed 5 three-pointers in total in scoring 32 points and also dished out 5 assists while fellow reserve Dennis Kramer had 15 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. The Göttingen starters scored only 26 points. Benjamin Simons hit all six of his three-point attempts in scoring 26 points for Bonn while Frazier had 13 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists and TJ DiLeo chipped in 9 points and 9 assists.
Other Round 12 game
The other Round 12 game was played on December 1 as EWE Baskets Oldenburg defeated Brose Bamberg 71-68 at home with Rickey Paulding leading the way with 20 points.
Oldenburg bring back Armani Moore as Boothe replacement
EWE Baskets Oldenburg have reacted to the injury to Nathan Boothe with Armani Moore returning to the team. The 25-year-old Moore signed until the end of the season with Oldenburg, with whom he played in the 2017-18 season. Moore played previously with Polish side Asseco Arka Gdynia.
Bamberg add low post reinforcement with addition of Atkins
Brose Bamberg added reinforcements to their low post as they signed Darion Atkins until the end of the season. The 27-year-old Atkins played earlier this season with Spanish side Iberostar Tenerife. Atkins gives Bamberg a power forward who can help out at center. His addition was needed after Bamberg released Micheal Carrera, who was a power forward who could play small forward as Bamberg were needing additional help in the blocks.
Player of the Week
This week’s honor goes to Andi Seiferth of medi bayreuth, who tied a career-high with 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting and 8-of-9 free throws to go with 6 rebounds, 4 assists and just 1 turnover for an efficiency of 30 against MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Per Günther, ratiopharm ulm
Let’s give Per Günther some more recognition as the veteran passed the 4,000 point mark in the easyCredit BBL in scoring 8 points against SYNTAINICS MBC. Günther, who also had 5 assists, joins Rickey Paulding and John Bryant as the only other two active players in the 4,000 point club.
F: Florian Koch, s.Oliver Würzburg
Koch drained 4 three-pointers in scoring 16 points while also picking up 5 rebounds against HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim.
F: Richard Freudenberg, FRAPORT SKYLINERS
Freudenburg had one of his best games of his career with 14 points, a career-high 12 rebounds and 2 blocks - albeit in an overtime loss to Basketball Löwen Braunschweig.
LIVE-VIDEO: Liebe Basketballgemeinde, ihr seht hier #easyCreditBBL-Geschichte: @GuntherPer hat mit diesem Dreier genau 4000 Karrierepunkte auf dem Konto! pic.twitter.com/k396QBpyZr
— easyCredit BBL (@easyCreditBBL) December 21, 2019
F: Dennis Kramer, BG Göttingen
Kramer played a big role in Göttingen beating Telekom Baskets Bonn with 15 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
C: Andi Seiferth, medi bayreuth
Seiferth was impressive as he tied his career high with 27 points while also picking up 6 rebounds and 4 assists. But Bayreuth lost at MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg.
Young Guns
Justus Hollatz, 18, PG, Hamburg Towers
Hollatz may have gone scoreless - missing his only shot - but the 18-year-old playmaker did collect 5 assists and just 2 turnovers in 15:22 minutes against ALBA BERLIN.
Bjarne Kraushaar, 20, PG, JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers
Kraushaar also went scoreless - missing his three shots - but he did tally 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block and 0 turnovers in 16:07 minutes against FC Bayern Munich.
Leon Okpara, 21, SG, JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers
Let’s give a little shout-out to the 21-year-old Okpara, who scored his first points of the season in picking up 2 points and 1 rebound in 8:27 minutes against FC Bayern Munich. It was Okpara’s second game this season and 14th in the league in his young career.
Mattisseck Check
Jonas Mattisseck had a strong game against Hamburg Towers as the 19-year-old faced former NBA playmaker Jorge Gutierrez, German veteran Heiko Schaffartzik and 18-year-old Justus Hollatz. Mattisseck scored 5 points, hitting both of his field goal attempts, while also picking up 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 0 turnovers in 18:36 minutes before fouling out.
LIVE auf https://t.co/Wdl4ni5vXn: Wow, Dennis Kramer ????. Nach den ersten fünf Minuten liegen wir knapp 14:16 zurück. #veilchenimblut #wirsindgöttingen #easycreditbbl #basketball #göttingen pic.twitter.com/56cFgAKqF3
— BG Göttingen (@BGGoettingen) December 21, 2019
Germans Abroad
Franz Wagner showed last season that he can produce in the easyCredit BBL for ALBA BERLIN and the 18-year-old gave NCAA fans a glimpse of what he can do as he came up with his best game thus far for Michigan in picking up 21 points - including 4 three-pointers - and 4 rebounds against Oregon.
