By Amy Samin
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv lost on the road to Unicaja Malaga, 82-68 in round 7 of the Euroleague regular season, and must win all of their remaining games if they hope to advance to the Top 16. Sylven Landesberg, Taylor Rochestie, and Jordan Farmar scored 13 points each, Devin Smith added 11 points, and Guy Pnini scored 8 points.
Maccabi's starters were Devin Smith, Brian Randle, Yogev Ohayon, Jordan Farmar, and Arinze Onuaku. Two three pointers from Farmar and one from Ohayon gave Maccabi an 11-8 lead after three and a half minutes. Hendrix put the hosts on top 14-11 halfway through the period. A bucket and one by Taylor Rochestie tied the score at 14, but Maccabi got into foul trouble and Malaga took advantage, taking an 8 point lead. Guy Pnini scored from downtown but the Spaniards responded in kind, and the quarter ended with Maccabi trailing 26-20.
The momentum stayed with the hosts in the second quarter, as Maccabi failed to find the basket and their deficit swelled to 43-20. Onuaku, Landesberg, and Trevor Mbakwe finally got Maccabi on the scoreboard for the period, but Malaga continued to dominate. Points by Landesberg and Rochestie didn't make much difference, and at halftime the Spaniards held a 48-31 lead.
Malaga continued to run as the second half got underway, and in four minutes reached 59-34 as Randle got his fourth foul. Pnini, Smith, and Rochestie put together a string of points that made it 61-44, but the Spaniards wasted no time rebuilding their lead to 20 points. A pair of treys by Farmar brought the score to 63-49 as the period ended.
Maccabi had a chance to get back into the game at the start of the fourth quarter, but turnovers on their part and more points by Hendrix at the other end of the court increased Malaga's lead to 67-51. Pnini and Smith combined to put the deficit under ten, 69-60, close to the five minute mark, but the hosts responded. Landesberg in the corner made it an 8 point game, but Thomas scored 11 straight for Malaga to put the win out of Maccabi's reach. In the end, Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv lost to Unicaja Malaga 82-68.