Blossomgame helps Ulm blast Virtus

ratiopharm Ulm led from start to finish in recording an 84-68 victory over Virtus Segafredo Bologna on Tuesday evening. The hosts also outscored Virtus in all four quarters for a convincing victory that lifted its record to 6-5. The result saw Ulm match Virtus (6-4) on wins and take the head-to-head tiebreaker between the teams; Virtus defeated Ulm by 11 when they met in Round 2. Jaron Blossomgame starred with 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead Ulm. Semaj Christon tallied 14 points, 7 assists and 3 steals, Thomas Klepeisz missed just 1 shot in accumulating 12 points, Sindarius Thornwell amassed 10 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals and Cristiano Felicio added 9 points and 13 rebounds. Amedeo Tessitori and Kyle Weems led Virtus with 14 points apiece and Marco Belinelli scored 13 in defeat.

Christon got the hosts on the scoreboard first before Weems answered with a layup for Virtus. Virtus struggled to get going on offense while Karim Jallow scored 6 points in a 10-0 Ulm run to lead 12-2 after 5 minutes. Jakarr Sampson ended the Virtus drought, but a jumper by Thornwell stretched the lead to 12. Belinelli stepped up with a triple and an assist to Tessitori to keep Virtus from falling further behind. Strong play by Mam Jaiteh at both ends made it 22-15 after 10 minutes.

Tessitori made a three-pointer and a put-back before Belinelli’s steal led to a Jaiteh dunk that made it 24-22. After a timeout, Christon revived the Ulm attack and Felicio dunked after Thornwell’s steal to give the hosts a cushion. Jallow followed his own missed three for a layup and Thornwell buried Ulm’s first three of the night for a 35-26 cushion. Weems also followed his own miss for a layup before Felicio and Thornwell teamed to restore a double-digit lead for Ulm. After Weems converted a three-point play on the offensive glass, Klepeisz and Belinelli traded threes. Another triple by Blossomgame to end the half made it 45-34 at the break.

Christon scored for Ulm first in the second half before Amar Alibegovic and Weems buried back-to-back threes and Jaiteh dunked to bring the visitors within 47-42. After an Ulm timeout, Christon scored and Klepeisz took a steal in for a layup. A three by Philipp Herkenhoff restored a double-digit advantage, 54-44. Weems and Belinelli did their part to keep the visitors in the hunt, but Ulm had answers through Blossomgame before Fedor Zugic buried a three to make it 61-48. The lead reached 15 before Tessitori’s three-point play ended the third quarter at 63-51.

Isaia Cordinier kept Virtus in the hunt with a layup and an assist to Ty-Shon Alexander for a triple that made it 65-56. After a timeout, Klepeisz and Blossomgame ensured Ulm remained in control and a three by Thornwell seemed to take the wins out of Virtus’s sails at 73-56 with 5 minutes to go. A Thornwell-to-Blossomgame alley-oop all but put the finishing touches on the win. The lead reached its highest point, 21, twice. Led by Alibegovic, Virtus gave a late chase to potentially get the head-to-head tiebreak advantage between the clubs, but a triple by Marius Stoll – his first-ever EuroCup points – ended those hopes for the visitors, too.

Blossomgame stars for the winners

Jaron Blossomgame was at the heart of ratiopharm Ulm’s Round 11 victory over Virtus Segafredo Bologna. He went for 20 points and 11 rebounds in 30 minutes of playing time. The forward made 6 of 10 two-pointers, 1 of 5 threes and all 5 of his free throws in compiling a performance index rating of 26. Those numbers come in stark contrast to the last time these two teams met. In Round 2, Blossomgame scored a season-low 2 points and had as many turnovers. His PIR in that game was negative-2. His superb effort this time made plenty of difference.

By the numbers: Ulm dominates on the glass

ratiopharm used its total domination on the glass to outclass Virtus Segafredo Bologna on Tuesday. The hosts collected 51 boards to just 34 by Virtus. Ulm took 18 offensive rebounds and allowed just 10. The offensive rebounding total tied for the second-most in club history. The Ulm record is 21 set in February 2014 against FoxTown Cantu. Those offensive boards made the difference in the end as the teams’ shooting numbers were very similar, but Ulm had 6 more field-goal attempts and 5 more free throws tries. That, combined with plenty of points in transition, made the difference for Ulm.

Tessitori has season-high for Virtus

Virtus Segafredo Bologna faced ratiopharm Ulm missing several key players, including Milos Teodosic, Nico Mannion, Awudu Abass, Kevin Hervey and Ekpe Udoh. Into the void stepped Amedeo Tessitori, who was one of the bright spots for the team in Germany. He scored a season-high 14 points by making 5 of 7 two-point shots, 1 of 2 threes and his lone free throw try. The big man also grabbed 3 rebounds and drew 4 fouls in 17 minutes on the floor for a performance index rating of 15. He was 1 point off his career-high in scoring of 15, which Tessitori reached twice last season with Virtus.