Promitheas rallies to win in Ulm

Promitheas Patras took charge in the second half to defeat ratiopharm Ulm 65-71 on Wednesday at ratiopharm Arena for its second straight win. The visitors fell behind early, but closed to within 32-31 at halftime before Kendrick Ray and Isaiah Miles heated up in the third quarter to give Promitheas a lead, which it added to and led by as many as 13 in the fourth to secure the win. Ray finished with 14 points and 6 assists, Miles scored 11 and Jerai Grant scored 10 as Promitheas improved to 2-3 in Group B. Thomas Klepeisz scored a career-high 22 points to lead Ulm, which fell to 2-3. Semaj Christon added 20 points and 4 assists and Fedor Zugic scored 11 in defeat.

Christon and Grant opened the scoring for their respective teams. Klepeisz heated up with a triple and a pair of free throws to put Ulm on top and Karim Jallow added a steal and layup for a 9-4 lead. Zugic banked in a three that stretched the lead to 16-8 before Nikos Gkikas responded from downtown for Promitheas. Dario Hunt scored inside for the visitors and Dimitris Agravanis’s reverse layup made it 20-15 after 10 minutes.

Hunt sank free throws to get Promitheas within 3 before Ulm expanded the lead through Christon. Grant scored at the rim to make it 26-21 midway through the second quarter. After a timeout by Ulm, Nikos Rogkavopoulos and Klepeisz traded threes. Abdul Gaddy trimmed the deficit before Rogkavopoulos took a steal coast to coast to tie it at 29-29. Zugic hit a three and was fouled before Gkikas beat the buzzer with a jumper to make it 32-31 at the break.

Agravanis scored first in the second half to give Promitheas its first lead. Grant netted a foul-line jumper and Ray added a jumper to make it 36-41, which prompted a timeout by Ulm. Little changed at first as a Cristiano Felicio turnover led to another bucket by Ray and a 7-point Promitheas lead. Christon sandwiched a pair of scores around an assist to Klepeisz on a triple to even things at 43-43 with 3 minutes to go in the third quarter. Promitheas called timeout after which Miles and Ray took charge with all the points in a 0-11 run.  Klepeisz was fouled shooting a three and made the resulting free throws to get within 46-54 through three quarters.

Gkikas and Miles made threes early in the fourth to restore a double-digit lead, 50-60. Klepeisz came through with a three for the hosts but was promptly met by back-to-back threes by Charis Giannopoulos and Ray for a 13-point lead. Ulm looked to rally late as free throws by Klepeisz and a fade-away jumper by Philipp Herkenhoff made it 59-68. Klepeisz’s fifth triple got Ulm within 7 with 90 seconds remaining. Zugic converted another triple with 28.9 seconds to go that drew the hosts within 65-69. However, free throws by Agravanis with 20.1 seconds left all but secured the outcome.

Pivotal player: Ray comes up big in second half

Promitheas Patras guard Kendrick Ray had a rough time in the first half, which he finished with just 2 points, 3 assists, 3 turnovers and a PIR of minus-1. He came alive in the third quarter when he scored 9 of his team’s 23 points and played a big role the rest of the way. Ray finished the night with 14 points, 6 assists and 5 turnovers for a PIR of 13. He scored twice and had an assist in a 0-10 third-quarter run that gave Promitheas the lead. After Ulm tied it, Ray added 5 points in a 0-11 run that gave his team the lead for good. His final basket, a three that made it 53-66 in the fourth quarter, gave the visitors their biggest lead of the night.

By the numbers: Ulm’s rebounding advantage goes for naught

ratiopharm Ulm dominated the glass against Promitheas Patras 35-29. What’s more, the hosts had 15 offensive rebounds to just 3 by their opponents. However, Ulm did not maximize that advantage, getting only 9 second-chance points. The reason for the offensive-rebounding advantage – and the reason it was not capitalized on – come from the fact that Promitheas terrified the Ulm shooters in the paint. Jerai Grant and Dario Hunt both tied the club record with 3 blocks and the hosts shot just 14 for 39 (35.9%) on two-pointers. In contrast, Promitheas made 17 of 28 shots (60.7%) in the arc. The visitors also shot better on threes, making 9 of 20 (45%) compared to 8 of 24 (33.3%) by Ulm.

Klepeisz stands out for Ulm

Thomas Klepeisz played a big role for ratiopharm Ulm despite his team’s Round 5 loss. He scored a career-high 22 points and became just the ninth Ulm player to make at least 5 three-pointers in a game. The guard saw his scoring rise for the fourth consecutive game as he continued to put his injury-plagued 2020-21 campaign behind him with another big game. Klepeisz, who was perfect in 7 trips to the foul line, also had 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal for a PIR of 25.