Maccabi Tel Aviv fell to Fenerbahce 84-82 after leading for the majority of the game to drop their Euroleague record to 2-4 on the season. The yellow-and-blue controlled the pace of the contest from the get go with solid performances by Jaylen Hoard, Jasiel Rivero, Saben Lee and Levin Randolph and stayed in front by 9-points after thirty minutes of action. But Nigel Hayes-Davis, Devon Hall, Skylar Mays kept the matchup close while Tarik Biberovic had the hot hand down the stretch to give Saras Jasikevicius’s club the lead for good to take the win.

Hoard scored 20 points, Randolph added 14 points while Lee and Rivero each chipped in with 13 points each in the loss. Hayes-Davis scored 20 points, Hall out in 16 points and Biberovic scored 15 points in the win.

“I don’t know if I am more frustrated or more proud,” Katash said after the game. “We were able to control the game for 30 minutes and we put in a huge effort but we fell apart in the last quarter due to exhaustion. Our shooting percentage dropped and the defense also missed some small things as they were just tired. I have to take things in proportion and stay proud and keep battling.”

Devon Hall opened the scoring for Fenerbahce, Jasiel Rivero did the same for Maccabi Tel Aviv with a trio of baskets, Nigel Hayes Davis added a deuce, Will Rayman countered from deep, Boban Marjanovic found points inside as did Jaylen Hoard at the other end, Hall went for downtown and Roman Sorkin put in a mini-hook to give the visitors a 21-16 lead after ten minutes of play.

Skylar Mays scored a pair of baskets while John Dibartolomeo and Jaylen Hoard both dialed up long distance but so did Hall as Levi Randolph also found points to keep the yellow-and-blue in front 29-28 with 5:18 left in the first half. Mays again scored, Wade Baldwin went the distance for a deuce, Sorkin went from deep, Saben Lee fed Hoard for an easy bucket, Marko Guduric scored, Randolph and Lee dropped midrange jumpers as Marjanovic scored as time wound down but Oded Katash’s squad went into halftime holding a 40-38 advantage.

Hoard began the third quarter with points in the paint, Hayes-Davis scored off the glass, Hall added points, Hoard put in a 3-point play and then put down an alley-oop and Lee scored to give Maccabi a 54-43 lead midway through the frame. Rivero hit long midrange jumper, Hayes-Davis went from beyond the arc, Randolph scored at the other end, Lee dunked off a break, Mays went fro deep at the other end and Rivero responded as Maccabi took a 67-58 lead into the final frame after thirty minutes.

Nicolo Melli went fro deep and Hayes-Davis added a deuce to begin the fourth quarter in a frenzy, Hoard scored, Hayes-Davis scored from long distance, Mays added points as well to close to within a point but Randolph went from beyond the arc to keep the yellow-and-blue ahead 72-70 with six minutes remaining in regulation time. Tarik Biberovic scored, Rokas Jokubaitis dropped a 3-point play, Biberovic nailed a pair of triples, Jokubaitis came back from deep as Hayes-Davis and Biberovic both scored to give Fenerbahce the 2-point victory.