Maccabi Tel Aviv dropped Kiryat Ata 91-72 as the yellow-and-blue were finally able to pull away in the fourth quarter in a tight opening thirty minutes of play.
Raz Adam and Amin Stevens along with Guy Palatin helped Kiryat Ata get off to a hot start, but Roman Sorkin and Josh Nebo began dominating the paint while Tamir Blatt got busy as well to give Maccabi Tel viv a 24-21 lead after ten minutes of play. Stevens and Adam continued to pace Sharon Avrahami’s squad while Yariv Amiram found the bucket for the hosts, but Joe Thomasson, John Dibartolomeo, Jasiel Rivero and Blatt scored for Oded Katash’s team as Maccabi stayed in front 49-45 at halftime.
Wade Baldwin and Nebo scored deuces while Dibartolomeo and Blatt put in triples, but Adam and Stevens kept finding points along with Ben Saraf to lead the hosts on a 17-4 run to end the period as Kiryat Ata grabbed a 66-65 lead after thirty minutes of action. Baldwin and Nebo opened the fourth quarter with points, Adam and Stevens came back with points, Rafi Menco went from deep while Rivero scored as well as Maccabi wrapped up the victory.
Rivero scored 16 points, Blatt added 15 points, Baldwin scored 12 points and Nebo scored 11 points in the win. Adam scored 23 points, Stevens chipped in with 21 points as Saraf scored 10 points in the loss.
“Kiryat Ata played quick and the game was fast paced for the first half despite not having one of their best players. We stopped Kiryat Ata in the second half and from there we took the win,” Katash said following the win.
“We were missing some energy but the free throws going 6/21 was awful,” Kiryat Ata head coach Sharon Avrahami said. “You can’t win a game especially against a team like Maccabi with that percentage, but the guys deserve credit as we kept it tight for three quarters. The guys all believe in themselves and that is why we were able to get back into the game.”
Josh Nebo spoke about the win, “I’m just trying to be consistent with my focus, effort and attitude and those are the things that I can control. Tamir Blatt has great floor vision and makes my job easier. My focus is to try and finish strong and achieve all my goals in the Israeli league.”
Hapoel Jerusalem beats Bnei Herzliya
Meanwhile, Hapoel Jerusalem defeated Bnei Herzliya 85-80 to get back onto the winning track after having been eliminated from European competition as well as having parted ways with head coach Ilias Kantzouris. Levi Randolph was all over the court and scored points a plenty throughout the game as Khadeen Carrington and Zach Hankins looked to be getting back into form.
Hapoel Jerusalem and Bnei Herzliya played neck and neck throughout the first half as Hankins, Carrington and Chris Johnson all found points for the Reds while Reggie Lynch got busy inside and Adrian Banks scored as well for the hosts but a Randolph triple gave the visitors a 40-37 advantage at halftime. The Reds started to pull away in the their quarter as the same quartet of players kept filling the basket for Shai Olerarczyk’s squad while Mike McGuirl and Banks tried to keep the Dan Shamir’s team close, however, their late push wasn’t enough as Jerusalem took the win.
Randolph scored 25 points, Carrington added 17 points and Hankins chipped in with 16 points in the win. Banks scored 23 points, Lynch checked in with 20 points and McGuirl scored 16 points in the loss.
“We needed this game a lot and the guys really deserved it,” Jerusalem head coach Shai Olerarczyk said. “There were many minutes where we defended properly and the commitment and desire was there along with the intensity from the squad. We are all together and while I am the head coach right now, Theo Giannakopoulos is with us as is Yonatan Alon and we are all in this together."
The game MVP Levi Randolph spoke about the victory, “We for sure needed this W, that was the focus as we had to get back onto the winning track. We just want to continue to work and stay together. There are a lot of ups and downs in the basketball season and you just try to go out and get better.”
Also, Hapoel Holon hung on to defeat Nes Ziona 76-74 in an entertaining game at the Lev HaMoshava Arena. After an even first quarter, Netanel Artzi, Kevin Hervey, CJ Harris and Drew Crawford sent the purples on a 14-0 run to take a 45-26 advantage into halftime but Isaiah Whitehead, Jerome Meyinsse and Zuf Ben Moshe cut down the lead to just a pair of points. However, Whitehead turned the ball over as time ran out and Holon chalked up the win.
Artzi scored 15 points, Harris added 14 points and Hervey scored 13 points in the win. Whitehead scored 19 points, Meyinsse chipped in with 18 points and Ben Moshe scoffed 10 points in the loss.
“This is the story of two halves and this will be a lesson for us,” Holon head coach Amit Sherf said. “We spoke about this and how to keep such a big lead that we had. We didn’t come into the second half with the same defensive commitment. Nes Ziona made some channels and we needed to adjust. We have a big week coming up with the Cup as the games continue on.”
“The guys really wanted it even too much and I told them this at halftime,” Nes Ziona coach Elad Hasin said about his team’s rough second quarter. “There was over motivation and I told them to play tough on defense as we were getting open host and layups that we were just missing. The second half we looked like a totally different team as we played really well but we were missing just a little bit to take the win.”
The game MVP Netanel Artzi spoke about the win, “We started the game exactly as we wanted to but we need to learn how to come out of halftime with the same intensity and not allow the other team to take control of the game. We also need to figure out how to keep our focus despite being exhausted. We are still in a process and next up is the State Cup and then the league championship”
Jerome Meyinsse also looked back at the game that was, “It was tough loss and we really played the second half as we wanted to with good defense and flow on offense, but we missed some opportunities early and if we capitalize on those then maybe wouldn’t have had to fight back so hard in the second half.”
Elsewhere, Hapoel Haifa slipped by Hapoel Tel Aviv 88-87 in a game that saw the Carmel Reds control from the get go with Marcus Bingham, Alex Hamilton and Jon Davis helping the visitors to the surprising win. Following the game a number of Hapoel Tel Aviv fans stormed the court and began attacking the opposing fans at the other end of the court that led to brutal scenes at the Drive In. Both teams put out statements condoning the violence while Tel Aviv owner Ofer Yannay posted in X that there will be some serious decisions and corrections that will be made and that he had run out of embarrassment.
Bingham scored 23 points, Davis added 19 points and Hamilton added 13 points and 10 assists in the win. Tomer Ginat had 20 points, Bar Timor added 14 points and 13 assists while Jaylen Hoard scored 12 points in the loss.
Finally, Hapoel Beer Sheva downed Hapoel Galil Elyon 87-80 as southern Reds head coach Oren Aharoni picked up his first victory as the club’s bench boss. The Galilee squad jumped out to an early 25-15 lead but Beer Sheva came storming back to take a 43-41 advantage at halftime and never looked back to chalk up the victory.
Grant Sherfield scored 19 points, JaKeenan Gant added 16 points and Mike Lewis scored 15 points in the win. Roi Huber recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists while Omar Silverio also scored 15 points in the loss.