Maccabi Fox Tel Aviv traveled with over 100 of their fans to the away game against Zalgiris Kaunas, which will conclude the first half of the EuroLeague season. Other than the Maccabi fans who made the trip to Lituania, more Yellow & Blue supporters from around the country are expected to fill out the impressive Zalgirio Arena. 

Maccabi departed with the expected roster, including Scottie Wilbekin and Othello Hunter, who missed the past Domestic league game against Be'er Sheva. For their first time, the two new Yellow & Blue additions, Aaron Jackson and Jalen Reynolds, joined their teammates and flew with them after practicing with the team this past week.

"First of all, I'm happy that Jackson and Reynolds are here with us, they practiced a couple of times with the team, and they look in good condition", Said head coach Giannis Sfairopoulos about the two new additions. "However, they are still learning the system, and there is no magic wand that will make them memorize everything in two days. They are ready to play, but to be a good unit, we need a few days, maybe weeks". 

"When you play away games in the EuroLeague, it isn't easy to win. We need to be more concentrated, follow the plan, and fight more for every ball", Added Sfairopoulos. "Zalgiris are on their way up, they won the last game, and so far from twelve loses this season, ten of them were under nine points, so we know it won't be easy".



"The addition of Jackson helps us a lot, Scottie and I don't have to bring the ball down the court every time, and it helps us with our energy", Said Tyler Dorsey about his new teammate. "Throughout the game, he can take those ball-handling duties as we can play off and on the ball. It is going to be an adjustment, but we will try to help him do that and help both of them through it. They look pretty good, in shape, tomorrow will be their first game, and hopefully, we will get there and fight to get a good win".

"We need to learn how to win more on the road. We won 6 of our last 7, and adding people on the roster will help us fatigue wise", Explained the guard, who spoke about their opponent: "Zalgiris is a hard-fighting team, you watch them on film, and you see they will fight until the end, they won't give up. Especially at home they probably play way better so with their crowd and the way they fight, they are a dangerous team".

"It was fun, unfortunately, my wife wasn't here, but it's still a great time to be in Israel", Said Elijah Bryant about celebrating his second new year's eve in Israel. "It's a special place, and this year we have something special here in Maccabi, so it is exciting".

"Jackson and Reynolds are two great players that will help us on both ends of the floor, so we are excited to have two new guys that will join the family", Told Bryant about his new teammates. "We take it one game at a time, so regardless of who we are playing if you are good or bad, they are first or last, it doesn't matter we have to be focused because every team in the EuroLeague is really good".

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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.

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