ratiopharm ulm built upon their upset win over FC Bayern Munich and knocked off EWE Baskets Oldenburg 85-66 for a 2-0 mark atop Group A of the easyCredit BBL Final Tournament 2020.
Tyler Harvey paced four Ulm players in double figures with 15 points while Archie Goodwin had 14, Thomas Klepeisz picked up 11 points and 6 assists and Derek Willis scored 10 points.
Oldenburg lost their first game in the tournament despite Nathan Boothe shining with 19 points in his first game in seven months while Rasid Mahalbasic collected 17 points and 7 rebounds and no other Oldenburg player topped 9 points.
Willis scored the first points of the game and he added a three-point play as Ulm went up 7-3. Oldenburg trailed 9-5 until Boothe came off the bench and scored two baskets to put the northern Germans up 13-12. Boothe added two more buckets or a 17-16 lead only to see Tyler Harvey nail a three-ball at the buzzer as Ulm led 19-17 after 10 minutes.
Harvey added another triple and Dylan Osetkowski picked up four points as Ulm extended the advantage to 26-17. Boothe responded with a three-ball and Mahalbasic also hit from long range and converted a three-point play in a 15-6 surge to knot the game 32-32. Andi Obst responded with a trey and Archie Goodwin scored five straight points in a 10-0 run for Ulm, who led 42-32 and the gap was 42-35 at the break.
Boothe drained two three-balls in an 8-0 Oldenburg start to the second half to move ahead 43-42. Harvey punched back with a trey of his own to start a 10-1 surge – with four more points from Goodwin – and a 52-44 Ulm advantage. Mahalbasic stopped the bleeding but Per Günther and Thomas Klepeisz both knocked down triples as well and the gap was 62-50 after three quarters.
Oldenburg tried to cut into the deficit but Ulm continually had an answer in the fourth, with Willis hitting a three-pointer and Goodwin throwing down a dunk for a 73-56 cushion. Oldenburg would not get closer than 15 points the rest of the way.
Quotes: Ulm’s Thomas Klepeisz: “The mood is good but we just said there is not really reason to celebrate. These are just the group games. It’s a good chance to put ourselves in a good position for the crossover games – but nothing more. We need to keep working and try to improve over the course of the tournament.
Oldenburg’s Rasid Mahalbasic: Ulm took better advantage of the short preparation time. At the beginning they beat Bayern, many thought they would not work well together. But today too, what can you say with a 20-point difference. Shaking your head is part of it. Usually the season is a marathon, here it’s a sprint.
Nathan Boothe (about his head): “It’s good. Probably have to go back to the hotel and get a few stitches but no headaches so probably no concussion. I went home and did some good rehab and the knee feels good. It’s just getting back into game shape now.”
“You really can’t simulate a game so we really just knocked the rust off so hopefully next game we’ll have more flow and play together.”