7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys responded to its opening-round defeat in the 7DAYS EuroCup by beating ratiopharm Ulm 80-76 at Cido Arena on Wednesday night.
Lietkabelis holds on to down Ulm, 80-76



Jamel Morris led the way in scoring for Lietkabelis with 14 points, with four of his teammates also getting into double figures: Gyorgy Goloman (13), Kristian Kullamae (12), Benas Griciunas (11), and Vytenis Lipkevicius (10). Kullamae also had a team-high 6 assists. Ulm had Robin Christen score a game-high 19 points, but it proved to be in vain.
Game Videos
The game was very equal in the first quarter, but Lietkabelis began to blow away Ulm in the second period, going into the break with a 16-point lead, 44-28, after outscoring the Germans 23-9. Ulm struggled significantly with its offense, with its guards failing to make an impact, while Lietkabelis found more success from both inside and outside the arc. Then, with 5:26 left in the third quarter and with a similar story continuing, Lietkabelis led by 19 points, 53-34, with the Ulm players looking defeated. But, that was the point at which they came to life. Eleven straight points followed for Ulm, but a Christen-led comeback saw Ulm flip the script and take a 60-61 lead with 7:03 to go in the fourth quarter. It was starting to look like Ulm would hold on to complete a memorable comeback, but Kullumae stepped up for the hosts with back-to-back steals on successive plays and also a three-pointer in the final minutes. Lipkevicius then hit a three-pointer to put the final nail in the coffin, as Lietkabelis goes to 1-1 and Ulm drops to 1-1.