Ulm captures big win in fight for top spots in Group A
ratiopharm Ulm overpowers Besiktas 104-87
ratiopharm Ulm roared for a 104-87 home victory over Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul to extend its winning streak to five games in a crucial Group A matchup. Ulm lost a 13-point first-half lead but never allowed Besiktas to get back ahead and cruised to a 9-4 record, including a 5-1 mark at home. Ulm had six players score in double figures in reaching the 100-point mark for the third straight game.
Marcio Santos and Justinian Jessup both scored 16 points while Thomas Klepeisz had the game of his season with 15 points - two more than his combined total thus far, and Ben Saraf added 10 points and 6 assists. Besiktas dropped to 7-6 with a second straight loss after a three-game winning streak. Kelan Martin was the top scorer for the visitors with 17 points and Dustin Sleva and Jonah Mathews both had 13 points.
Game Videos
After Derek Needham opened the proceedings with a three-pointer for Besiktas, there were three lead changes and Ulm used 2 triples to go up 12-7. A second long ball from Jessup gave Ulm its first double-figure advantage at 19-9. Santos took over with 9 straight points for Ulm in building a 27-14 cushion. Besiktas pulled within 9 points but trailed 34-23 after 10 minutes.
After giving up 34 points in the opening frame, Besiktas held the hosts to just a put-back basket in the first 3 minutes of the second quarter and Martin scored 6 points in a 2-10 run to get the deficit down to 36-33. Besiktas erased the 13-point gap on a Mathews layup to knot it up 38-38. Jessup answered with a three-pointer and Saraf sparked the offense with three scores as Ulm led 50-42 and went into the break ahead 52-44.
Noa Essengue threw down a dunk and Klepeisz drained a triple as Besiktas head coach Dusan Alimpijevic called a timeout just 51 seconds into the second half. Isaiah Roby followed with 5 points for Ulm, which pushed the advantage to 64-47. Klepeisz drained his third triple and Ulm increased the margin to 20 points - 72-52. Besiktas was not ready to hand over the game and trimmed it to 74-60. The home side led 81-64 after 30 minutes.
Ulm got two transition baskets in the first 2 minutes of the fourth quarter for an 85-66 lead and Alimpijevic called another timeout. Ulm kept up the pace and Nelson Weidemann hit 2 three-pointers for a 95-70 lead with 5 minutes to play. The only question was if Ulm could actually catch the 33-point deficit from the road game in Istanbul. But that was the closest the German side could make it.