Monaco outlasts tired Ulm for second road win

AS Monaco collected its second road victory in the 7DAYS EuroCup by knocking off ratiopharm Ulm 65-75 in Group A. Yakuba Outtara paced Monaco with 15 points, while Elmedin Kikanovic scored 14 points, Jarrod Jones had 12 points and Ian Hummer collected 13 points and 10 rebounds - 7 off the offensive glass – 3 assists and 1 block. Monaco improved to 2-1 in the group while Ulm dropped to 1-2. David Kraemer came off the Ulm bench to score a career-high 14 points in 17 minutes, while Ryan Thompson and Per Guenther both managed 10 points in the loss. Ulm was missing high-flyer Javonte Green, who was poked in the eye in German League action over the weekend.

The game was tight early until Outtara took over with his high-energy game with 8 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals and the Monaco lead was 11-17. Jarrod Jones scored 5 points at the end of the quarter for a 15-24 advantage. Thompson stepped up in the second quarter for Ulm with a three-point play to keep it close at 21-26. But the Jones combo of Jarrod and Lazeric pushed the lead to 26-36. Luc Loubaki added a three and block for Monaco, which led 32-46 at the break. A great effort by Hummer with an assist, 3 offensive rebounds and a three-pointer helped increase Monaco's cushion to 21 points - 34-55. Ulm made a comeback with back-to-back three-pointers from Kraemer to trim the gap to 43-55. Monaco hit the final 4 points of the quarter and led 43-59 after 30 minutes. Ulm had one run left as Kraemer picked up 4 points and 1 assist to trim the gap to 52-59. Derek Needham snapped Monaco's four-minute scoreless drought before Outtara and Kikanovic outscored Ulm 2-11 in the next couple of minutes to decide the game.

Tired legs

Ulm came into the game having played the equivalent of two and a half games in the stretch of 6 days after beating Galatasaray Istanbul 103-92 in double-overtime in EuroCup Round 2 on October 10 and then losing in double-overtime on the road at EWE Baskets Oldenburg 103-99 in the German League on October 13.

Game changing sequence

Ulm had cut the Monaco lead from 21 points down to 7 four minutes into the fourth quarter when Derek Needham finally scored for the guests. Yakuba Outtara and Elmedin Kikanovic finished strong for the win.

Key performer

Ian Hummer was all over for Monaco against his former team, scoring 13 points while also grabbing 10 rebounds - 7 of them from the offensive glass. He also chipped in 3 assists and 1 block for an index rating of 18.

Hidden stat

Ulm just could not hit its open shots, converting on just 43 percent from inside the three-point line and 25 percent from beyond it. Monaco meanwhile hit 53 percent of its two-point attempts.

Next games

After a second straight home game, Ulm will head back onto the road next week in taking on Morabanc Andorra looking to even its record. Monaco has another road contest waiting next week in playing at Galatasaray Istanbul.