The Yellow & Blue end the first round of the EuroLeague with an 11:6 record after the loss in Lithuania. Jake Cohen scored a career-high 20 points and 7 rebounds
Maccabi Fox Tel Aviv comes up short 68:73 to Zalgiris Kaunas in Lithuania as part of the 17th EuroLeague fixture, finishing the first round with 11 wins and 6 losses. Jake Cohen stood out with a EuroLeague career-high 20 points and 7 rebounds, Tyler Dorsey added 18. Aaron Jackson and Jaylen Reynolds made their debuts in the Yellow & Blue jersey.
Giannis Sfairopoulos opened the contest with Tyler Dorsey, Yovel Zoosman, Angelo Caloiaro, Quincy Acy, and Jake Cohen in the starting five. Maccabi started hot from deep, Acy, Dorsey, and Zoosman splashed 3 three-pointers in its first four possessions to go up 11:6. Jake Cohen led the way to a 16:11 advantage, as Aaron Jackson and Jaylen Reynolds saw first action for Maccabi 3:30 minutes to the end of the first. Zach LeDay scored two from the line to reduce the visitor’s lead, 21:17 after 10 minutes.
Zalgiris took advantage of a slow Maccabi start to the second quarter, to go on an 8:2 run that gave hosts their first lead of the night, 23:25. Coach Giannis Sfairopoulos called a timeout, and the Yellow & Blue responded with 11 unanswered points with Dorey nailing a pair of threes that regained command, 34:25. Five straight Lithuanian points diminished Maccabi’s lead to 5, 34:29 at the break.
The Yellow & Blue came out of halftime sharp and concentrated, scoring the first 10 points of the third quarter that gave the visitors a double-digit advantage, 44:29. The greens scored 5 straight to stop the run, but Cohen and Elijah Bryant responded with three-pointers to keep the lead. In the final 2:45 minutes of the period, Zalgiris scored 11 unanswered points to tie it up at 53:53 going into the last quarter.
The host’s momentum continued into the fourth, taking a 53:61 lead with an 8:0 run as 6 of those points came out of the hands of Lukas Lekavicius. Maccabi’s top performer Cohen scored 6 straight points to cut down the advantage to 2. 40 seconds to the buzzer, with Zalgiris up by 3, 65:68, Cohen fouled out, as Edgaras Ulanovas sank the final free throws that sealed the game, 68:73.
