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\u00a0London Lions 93-95 Hapoel Tel Aviv (30-27, 28-21, 17-17, 18-30)(Lions: Dekker; 29, Taylor; 19, Zubcic; 19 \u2013 Hapoel: McRae; 24, Brown; 18, Onuaku; 10)\u00a0<\/p>\n
London Lions suffered Wembley heartbreak as they lost 95-93 to Israeli giants Hapoel Tel Aviv in a EuroCup, Group B clash on Wednesday night.\u00a0The Lions dropped to 4-6 in the group as they came agonisingly close against the highly experienced Tel Aviv side, who were cheered on by a raucous travelling crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, former Washington Wizards star Jordan McRae had other ideas. The guard was unstoppable \u2013 scoring 36 points on 81% shooting from inside the paint.\u00a0\u00a0McRae said: \u201cIt was a total team effort \u2013 we fought hard, never gave up and kept playing hard.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Lions, still playing without the injured Ovie Soko, looked like the better team through most of the game. But big plays down the stretch from Onuaku and especially McRae were the difference.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Lions got excellent production from Sam Dekker with a season-high 29 points and Jordan Taylor with 19 points and nine assists.\u00a0London started very strong with a 7-0 run \u2013 looking confident playing at Wembley for the second time in the EuroCup.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Luke Nelson scores on a drive to open the proceedings \u2013 before Kosta Koufos backed his man down and spun to the basket for two.\u00a0\u00a0McRae was the first Hapoel player to get on the scoreboard \u2013 knocking down his first three-pointer before Dekker answered with four quick points of his own.\u00a0Tomislav Zubcic and Taylor splashed home a pair of three-pointers, respectively \u2013 pushing the Lions\u2019 lead to 11 points with only five minutes played.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tel-Aviv, a talented and experienced side in their own right, battled back into the game in the second quarter through six points from Mcrae. \u00a0\u00a0However, the Lions used their sizable frontline to keep themselves ahead. Back-to-back three-pointers from Zubcic gave him 13 points in the first half.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the third period, the teams traded baskets for a few minutes, with Tel Aviv opting for a smaller lineup.\u00a0\u00a0Luke Nelson came up with the game\u2019s highlight play \u2013 falling out of bounds, he managed to thread a bounce pass to Koufos inside for the dunk.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, Tel Aviv, with their fans chanting and drumming throughout the game, kept finding openings \u2013 McRae and Onuaku being the primary beneficiaries.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Josh Sharma was a bright spark off the bench amid the Lions\u2019 9-2 run, as the twin towers lineup of Sharma and Koufos proved difficult for Hapoel to adjust to.\u00a0\u00a0With Dekker pushing in transition, he found Taylor in the corner for the triple \u2013 as he extended the lead to 12 points.\u00a0In the fourth quarter, the Lions came straight out the gate again \u2013 with Taylor splashing another three.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yet McRae answered again as he did all evening, with his pull-up mid-range jump shot \u2013 cutting the lead to five points.\u00a0\u00a0McRae scored eight straight points for the visiting team in the final five minutes of action. He also shot 9 of 11 from the free-throw line.\u00a0With three minutes remaining, Hapoel took the lead \u2013 capping off a 20-2 run in 5 minutes of fourth-quarter play.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With a minute left and the game hanging in the balance, McRae pulled up in the lane and converted, using the screen expertly.\u00a0\u00a0Running it back with Taylor pulling the strings, he found Dekker with a little room for the top-of-the-key three-pointer.\u00a0\u00a0However, the Lions could not stop Onuaku from hitting the game\u2019s final shot and giving his team victory.\u00a0\u00a0The Lions will be disappointed at blowing the lead but will be encouraged by their players\u2019 performances despite injuries and foul trouble.\u00a0London will get a chance to respond in EuroCup action next against Italian side Aquila Basket Trento on Wednesday, 18 January.\u00a0<\/p>\n