EasyCredit BBL Playoffs: Mark Smith Drops 29 Points Off the Bench but Ulm Falls Short Against Bamberg
Williams, Bamberg hold off Ulm in BBL Playoff battle Photo Credit: Bamberg Baskets @Daniel Löb
The EasyCredit BBL quarterfinals delivered a thriller on May 18, as the Bamberg Baskets edged ratiopharm ratiopharm Ulm 90-87 in a game that came down to the final possessions. For Ulm, the defeat stings all the more given the exceptional individual display put on by one of their bench players.
Bamberg Baskets 90 - 87 ratiopharm Ulm · EasyCredit BBL · 18/05/2026Game PTS REB AST Bamberg Baskets Zachary Ensminger 6 5 5 Ibrahim Watson-Boye 6 2 1 Richard Balint 14 2 2 Adrian Petkovic 0 0 0 Cobe Williams 18 6 3 Moritz Krimmer 3 2 0 E.J. Onu 10 6 2 Nico Höllerl 0 0 0 Finn Döntgens 0 0 0 Demarcus Demonia 13 5 1 Austin Crowley 14 4 4 Daniel Keppeler 6 3 0 ratiopharm Ulm Alec Anigbata 0 4 0 Chris Sengfelder 12 4 0 Teo Milicic 2 2 0 Malik Osborne 0 1 0 Joel Soriano 6 6 0 Mark Smith 29 6 1 Justin Simon 8 2 1 Thomas Klepeisz 6 2 3 Nelson Weidemann 2 0 2 Christopher Ledlum 10 14 5 Mohamed Diakite 2 0 0 Tobias Jensen 10 4 4
Mark Smith: A Dominant Bench Performance That Wasn’t Enough
Coming off the bench, Mark Smith was nothing short of spectacular. In just 29 minutes of action, the guard poured in 29 points while adding 6 rebounds, finishing as the game’s leading scorer. It was the kind of performance that typically carries a team to victory — yet Ulm still came up three points short. Smith’s output highlighted both his individual brilliance and the collective struggles that ultimately cost Ulm the game.
The rest of the Ulm supporting cast contributed, but not at the same level. Christopher Ledlum put together a strong all-around game with 10 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 assists in 22.5 minutes, while Tobias Jensen added 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists in nearly 33 minutes. Christian Sengfelder chipped in 12 points off the bench. Still, the team couldn’t generate enough consistent offense to match Bamberg’s balanced attack down the stretch.
Bamberg’s Collective Effort Proves the Difference
Where Ulm leaned heavily on Smith, Bamberg spread the load across multiple contributors. Cobe Williams led the Baskets with 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists in 27.8 minutes, providing steady leadership throughout. But it was the depth of Bamberg’s rotation that proved decisive.
Cobe Williams (Bamberg Baskets) - Mark Smith (ratiopharm Ulm)Cobe Williams Mark Smith PTS 18 29 REB 6 6 AST 3 1 STL 2 2 BLK 1 0
Richard Balint and Austin Crowley each scored 14 points, with Crowley also distributing 4 assists in 27.1 minutes. Demarcus Demonia added 13 points and 5 rebounds, while E.J. Onu contributed a double-digit 10-point, 6-rebound effort in under 20 minutes. Five Bamberg players reached double figures — a testament to the team’s collective efficiency and the kind of balanced production that wins playoff games.
The contrast between the two teams was telling. Ulm generated elite individual production but couldn’t sustain it across the lineup. Bamberg, by contrast, never relied on one player to carry the offense, making them harder to stop and more resilient in crunch time.
The 90-87 final score reflects just how competitive the matchup was, and Mark Smith’s 29-point effort off the bench will be remembered as one of the standout individual performances of this year’s BBL quarterfinals. For Ulm, however, it serves as a painful reminder that playoff basketball demands more than one man’s brilliance.
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