

U-BT Cluj-Napoca rallied from 18 points down to beat ratiopharm Ulm 81-85 on the road and guarantee a top-four finish in Group B and at least a home game in the eighthfinals. Cluj was down 62-44, but gained control of the game with a 6-24 fourth-quarter run to improve to 11-4.
Patrick Richard scored 14 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and Bryce Jones added 12 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists for the winning side. Ulm’s freefall continued with a fourth straight defeat to drop to 8-7. LJ Figueroa scored 17 points, Juan Nunez had 15 points and Trevion Williams collected 10 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists in the losing effort.
Figueroa drained 2 three-pointers and 2 free throws for the first 8 points of the game. Cluj followed with the next 8 points to even the game only to see Figueroa hit another triple and Karim Jallow throw down a dunk for the first points by another Ulm player and a 13-10 lead. Georginho de Paula also sank a triple and Figueroa added foul shots and a dunk for 15 points already to put Ulm up 22-13. The hosts were ahead 24-17 after 10 minutes.
Ulm failed to score in the first 2 minutes of the second quarter and Cluj cut the gap to 24-21. Thomas Klepeisz answered with 2 triples, Georginho added a second three-pointer and Ulm’s leading scorer Williams finally scored with 5 points to put Ulm up 38-25. Cluj forced Ulm turnovers and trimmed the gap to 42-34. But DJ Seeley was then ejected from the game with a disqualifying foul for stepping on Klepeisz with 1:29 minutes left in the first half. Ulm extended the cushion to 48-34 and led 51-36 at the break.
Jallow started the second half and the lead grew to 53-36. Jones scored three points to trim the gap to 14 points and a Jarell Eddie triple had Cluj within 57-44. Ulm was still leading 62-44 but Mihai Maciuca hit a three-pointer and Richard converted a layup to get the advantage down to 63-52. Klepeisz and Richard swapped triples and the hosts led 66-55 after 30 minutes.
After a Williams basket to open the final frame for a 68-55 cushion, Richard converted a four-point play and a layup and followed with 3 more free throws in a 0-11 run to make it 68-66 with more than 7 minutes to go. Nunez stopped the run with a layup for the home side only to see Mareks Mejeris nail a triple. Richard added another three-pointer and Karel Guzman made free throws to give Cluj the lead 74-79 with 4 minutes to play. Nunez followed with the next 4 points but missed the bonus free throw, unable to even the game with 126 seconds remaining. Jones countered with a jumper, steal and 2 free throws as Cluj went ahead 78-83 with 47 seconds on the clock. After Nunez made 2 free throws, Jones committed a turnover with Williams making only one foul shot and Richard finished the deal with 2 more free throws with 16 seconds left for an 81-85 lead.