Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Bayern Munich 93-90 as they mounted a double digit comeback in the fourth quarter to snatch the win from the jaws of defeat in Euroleague action. The yellow-and-blue saw Levi Randolph score early but Shabazz Napier kept the German squad in front, however, stellar plays from Jimmy Clark in the second quarter helped give Maccabi a 48-44 lead at halftime. Carsen Edwards proved to be unstoppable in the third quarter to give Gordie Herbert’s team a 74-61 lead but Rafi Menco led a fourth quarter charge that saw Trevion Williams give Maccabi the lead for good as they notched the victory.

Clark scored 20 points, Randolph added 17 points and Jokubaitis put in 12 points in the win. Edwards scored 33 points and Napier scored 17 points in the loss.

“We didn’t give up,” Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Oded Katash began. “We were in the game and they moved to a switching defense in the third quarter where Edwards made huge baskets, but we came back by playing well and sticking to our game plan. I’m very happy and proud of the guys. I am very happy for guys like Rafi Menco and Omer Mayer who really had their chance and played well in this game. We have a very important game on Sunday against Hapoel Jerusalem as we want to hold on to home court advantage so it’s a big game. We really miss our fans and happy to come home to see them.”

“I thought we had a good first half and third quarter, but we had turnovers in the fourth quarter and they started making some 3’s. We had some good shots but we couldn’t make them when they were up by 2-4 points,” Bayern Munich Head Coach Gordie Herbert said.

The game MVP Levi Randolph spoke about the keys to victory, “We showed the character of our team we never gave up and kept fighting and we were able to withstand their run and we got the win. We played defense, got some big stops down the end, we stayed with it and kept playing. It wasn’t going to be over until the clock showed triple zeroes.”

“Rafi and Omer did great,” Randolph continued. “They stepped up and I have always said the entire season that we have a lot of great players, juts be ready when your number is called. They work hard every day and I see it at practice so I know what they can do. So when their number was called they were able to step up and play big for us.”

Randolph looked ahead to Sunday’s Israeli Classico against Hapoel Jerusalem, “It’s a big game for us, we know what it means and we played them twice already this year, it’s going to be a great atmosphere and it’s going to be important for us in the league to build on a championship, so we are looking forward to the game. I miss the fas and we don’t get to see them much, but when we do we appreciate it a lot.”

Jimmy Clark also spoke about the win, “It was a great effort. Carsen Edwards got hot and made some incredible shots we just had to stay with it, stay together and we came out with the W. It was tough with the defensive matchups and a couple of mishaps along with missing a few shots but we stayed together communicated, talked to each other and listened to what the coaches had to say. We are ready to get to the next game.”

Rokas Jokubaitis and Levi Randolph opened the game with points for Maccabi Tel Aviv while Shabazz Napier had the hot hand for Bayern Munich as Niels Giffey drilled a corner 3-ball as the first quarter came to an end to give the visitors a 22-17 lead after ten minutes of play. Randolph and Napier traded baskets to get the second quarter underway while Jokubaitis also added points but Andreas Obst started hitting his shots from deep with a trio of triples, however, Jimmy Clark scored at as will as the half came to a close to give the yellow-and-blue a 48-44 advantage.

Carsen Edwards started making his mark on the game from the outside as Omer Mayer tried to keep Maccabi hanging around, but Edwards continued to score with ease from deep and chalked up eight triples for Bayern in the third quarter to take a 74-61 lead after thirty minutes of action. Rafi Menco started hitting his shot to cut down the lead while Roman Sorkin and John Dibartolomeo found the bottom of the basket as well, Edwards countered but points from Trevion Williams in the paint as time wound down gave Maccabi the lead as they stunned Bayern to take the win.