By Amy Samin

Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv’s crucial 71 –
68 win over Žalgiris came on a night when most of their shots refused to fall.
Eidson, who had a fantastic night on defense (5 steals), scored the go-ahead three-pointer with ten seconds left in the game.
Sofoklis Schortsanitis (22 points, 6 rebounds) and Doron Perkins (20 points, 7 rebounds) were the keys to keeping Maccabi in the game throughout the evening.
The win is a huge step towards securing the top spot in Group A, and has guaranteed them a place in the Top 16.
Maccabi’s players wore black ribbons on their jerseys following the terrible tragedy in the Carmel region.

Maccabi’s starting five was comprised of Sofoklis Schortsanitis, Doron Perkins, Chuck Eidson, Lior Eliyahu, and Jeremy Pargo, while the home team started with Mantas Kalnietis, Tomas Delininkaitis, Tadas Klimavicius, Mirza Begic, and Dainius Salenga.
The lead traded hands in the early minutes of the first quarter until Žalgiris went ahead by 7 – 3.
Two straight baskets by Sofo (assists, Eliyahu) brought Maccabi within two, 9 – 7 four minutes into the period.
The hosts answered with a mini-scoring run that put them ahead 14 – 7, but one of Perk’s patented fast-breaks and a bucket and one by Eidson off an inbounds pass quickly tied the score at 14.
A fast-break by Eidson put Maccabi ahead but was quickly answered by Žalgiris.
The lead went back to Maccabi thanks to a long two from Perk near the top of the arc, but points by Paulius Jankunas and Begic returned the lead to the Lithuanians as time ran out on the first quarter, 21 – 18.

A hook shot by Sofo and a catch-and-shoot by Blu from the top of the arc brought Maccabi within two points early in the second quarter, 25 – 23.
Maccabi’s defense, led by Eidson with two quick steals, flexed its muscles and kept the game close, 28 – 25.
Eidson was also effective on offense, sending two assists to Eliyahu, while Sofo slammed home an emphatic dunk; with three minutes left in the half, Maccabi had a 29 – 28 lead.
Travis Watson fought to bring the lead back to the home team, but points by Sofo and Pargo (including a massive one-handed dunk) meant that the half ended with Maccabi leading by one, 35 – 34.

Maccabi opened strong in the third quarter with points from Eliyahu, Sofo and Perk; after two minutes the score was 42 – 36, Maccabi.
The Lithuanians battled their way back to 42 – 40 but Eliyahu executed one of his spin & in layups and Perkins cruised coast-to-coast to set the score at 46 – 40 after four minutes of play in the period.

An unsportsmanlike foul called against Richard Hendrix gave the hosts the chance to narrow the gap a bit, and was soon followed by a similar charge against Perkins.
With under two minutes on the clock in the period, a three-pointer by Martynas Pocius tied the game at 50.
Trips to the charity stripe on both ends of the court closed out the quarter with Žalgiris in the lead, 56 – 53.

The home team stayed hot in the final quarter on the rare occasions that Maccabi’s defense allowed them a shot; a shot clock violation and an 8 second violation kept Žalgiris off-balance.
At the halfway mark in the period the hosts led by eight, 62 – 54, but Maccabi made a comeback, with points by Sofo, Perkins and especially Pargo keeping things close.
With a minute left Pargo’s spin and shoot narrowed the gap to 66 – 63.
But it was Sofo, with four points and a steal in less than forty seconds who put Maccabi in the lead, 67 – 66 with 19 seconds in the game.
Pocius scored to put the lead back in the hands of the Lithuanians, until Chuck Eidson nailed a flawless three from the right corner (assist, Pargo) to put Maccabi up 70 – 68 with ten seconds on the clock.
David Blu sank a free throw to finish things off, and Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv secured a key win over Žalgiris Kaunas, 71 – 68, taking one step closer to locking down first place in Group A of the Euroleague.

Box Scores:

Maccabi: Schortsanitis 22 points, 6 rebounds; Perkins 20 points, 7 rebounds; Eidson 8 points, 5 steals; Pargo and Eliyahu 8 points each; Blu 5 points.

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