Hapoel Falls to Manresa

Much like in its first EuroCup loss last week, Hapoel once again built a double-digit lead over its opponent - and once again walked away with a loss after a disappointing finish. This time, the Reds fell 101-94 to Manresa in Spain after leading by as many as 15 points early in the second half. Hapoel entered the final quarter with just a two-point advantage before being outscored 32-23 over the final 10 minutes.

Hapoel had three players score more than 20 points each, but at the other end struggled to find an answer for a huge performance from Alfonso Plummer, who led five Manresa players in double figures with 23 points in just 21 minutes. The Puerto Rican guard was on fire from beyond the arc, hitting four of his six three-point attempts, while also drawing three fouls on three-point shots on his way to shooting 9-of-11 from the free-throw line.

Álex Reyes, who added 16 points, also made four three-pointers on seven attempts. Manresa as a team shot 10-of-21 from beyond the arc (48%), compared to just six made threes on 19 attempts (31.6%) for the Reds.

Even after surrendering their entire lead, Hapoel managed to stay within striking distance until the final minutes, but poor decisions prevented the Reds from regaining control. Yovel Zoosman had a particularly difficult night, going scoreless in 30 minutes on the court while missing all seven of his field-goal attempts.

Yonatan Alon's team dropped to 1-2 in the competition and will hope to bounce back quickly, with a road game against Hapoel Holon in the Israeli League already awaiting on Saturday night.

Hapoel scorers: Justin Smith 23, Jared Harper and Khadeen Carrington 21 each, Cassius Winston 11, Austin Wiley 6, Anthony Lamb and Nimrod Levi 5 each, Roi Huber 2. Yovel Zoosman, Josiah-Jordan James, Roi Pritzky and Dmytro Skapintsev also played.

Harper. His 21 points weren't enough

Hapoel started with Harper, Carrington, Zoosman, Lamb and Smith, with Carrington responsible for seven of the Reds' first 11 points. Hapoel took the lead for the first time midway through the opening quarter and held onto it through the end of the period, taking a 24-20 advantage after 10 minutes.

Carrington continued to stand out in the second quarter, reaching 12 points and helping the Reds build a double-digit lead. An 8-0 Manresa run brought the hosts back within one possession, but strong minutes from Smith - who also had 12 points by halftime - gave Hapoel a 54-48 lead at the break.

Carrington. One of Hapoel's two leading scorers in the first half

Carrington and Smith continued their momentum after halftime, leading a 9-0 run that gave Hapoel a game-high 15-point advantage. But Manresa refused to go away, responding with three consecutive three-pointers - two of them from Plummer - to cut the deficit to four as part of an 11-0 run.

The hosts briefly tied the game late in the third quarter before Harper scored at the buzzer to give Hapoel a 71-69 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.

Manresa completed the comeback early in the fourth quarter. Yonatan Alon's team managed to regain a four-point advantage, but Plummer remained hot and put the hosts back in front with less than four minutes remaining.

Carrington tied the game with a three-pointer, but Manresa responded by opening a two-possession lead. From there, Hapoel couldn't find its way back.

101-94 to Manresa at the final buzzer.