Maccabi Tel Aviv fell to ASVEL 74-67 as former Yellow & Blue guard Norris Cole came back to haunt his old team at his old stomping ground. Ioannis Sfairopoulos’s squad led early on but TJ Parker’s team played aggressive ball to get Maccabi out of their comfort zone and take the win.

Cole led all scorers with 17 points, Antione Diot and Guerschon Yabusele scored 9 points each while David Lighty added 7 points in the win. Dragan Bender was Maccabi’s high scorer with 15 points, Tyler Dorsey and Scottie Wilbekin scored 14 points each and Ante Zizic added 12 points in the loss.

Maccabi Tel Aviv got off to a quick start as Chris Jones with a jumper, Dragan Bender with a triple and points inside by Ante Zizic helped the hosts to a lead but Norris Cole and Antoine Diot from the outside put ASVEL in the drivers seat midway through the first quarter 10-9. Jones and Elijah Bryant scored inside, Scottie Wilbekin found his stroke from the outside and then cut to the inside as the Yellow & Blue took a 22-14 lead after ten minutes of play.

Ismael Bako and Paul Lacombe scored to get the second quarter underway while Amine Noua nailed a 3-pointer to close the gap to 23-21 with six minutes left in the frame. Bender dropped a 3-point play, Wilbekin thread the needle to a cutting Bryant, Dorsey went from downtown but Moustaoha Fall dunked at the other end and Cole drilled a corner triple to keep pace 32-29 with under 3 minutes remaining in the half. Charles Kahudi scored back to back buckets and Guerschon Yabusele went from deep to give ASVEL a 37-34 advantage at halftime.

Diot opened the third quarter with points from beyond the arc and David Lighty scored as well while Bender went from long distance but Cole took the corner ball to increase ASVEL’s lead to 47-41 midway through the third quarter. Wilbekin scored a jumper, Yabusele drained a 3-pointer at the other end and Derrick Walton Jr. powered in a layup to give TJ Parker’s squad a 57-48 advantage after thirty minutes.

Lacombe put in points to start the fourth quarter but Bender scored at the other end a pair of buckets to pull Maccabi to within 64-56 with 5:32 left in regulation time. After a pair of Bender misses from deep Cole drilled a triple and a deuce and Fall put down a mega dunk, but Dorsey scored a layup and free throws while Ante Zizic added points inside but Fall with another dunk sealed the win for ASVEL.