Jeremy Pargo led Maccabi with 18 points and Angelo Caloiaro chipped in with 16 points in the defeat.
By JOSHUA HALICKMANHAPOEL HOLON’S Guy Pnini (10) drives to the hoops past Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Jake Cohen during Holon’s 100-95 victory over the yellow-and-blue on Sunday night in BSL action(photo credit: ADI AVISHAI)
Hapoel Holon solidified its position in first place of the Basketball Super League with a 100-95 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv on Sunday night.Holon used a 35-point second quarter to effectively take control of the game and pick up the victory. Corey Walden starred again for the hosts with 26 points and five assists, Dequan Jones dropped 22 points and Guy Pnini added 15 points and seven assists in the triumph.Jeremy Pargo led Maccabi with 18 points and Angelo Caloiaro chipped in with 16 points in the defeat.Playing without Scottie Wilbekin, who was out ill, Maccabi grabbed a 27-16 after 10 minutes thanks to three triples by Pargo and seven points by Tarik Black as the yellow-and-blue dominated the first frame.However, that’s where Maccabi’s domination ended as Dequan Jones dropped 12 points and Walden scored 10 to spark Holon’s second-quarter outburst as it took a 51-43 lead into halftime.Michael Roll and Black helped Maccabi cut the Holon lead to 73-67 after 30 minutes of action, but another Jones three from the corner, coupled with Walden’s fabulous overall play, negated the yellow-and-blue’s short-lived comeback midway through the fourth quarter to record the five-point conquest.Dequan Jones spoke about Holon avenging its 99-66 first-round loss to Maccabi.“This was big for us as we gained momentum going into the next week. We always say that we should take it one game at a time, but we had this one marked on our calendars and we came out and executed.”Meanwhile, Hapoel Jerusalem got by Maccabi Ashdod 104-94 in the nation’s capital.Playing without an injured Tamir Blatt, the Reds stepped up dishing out 33 assists while shooting 10-of-24 (42%) from beyond the arc as Blatt’s absence was barely felt in the win.
J’Covan Brown scored 25 points and recorded six assists, James Feldeine added 21 points and seven helpers while Yogev Ohayon picked up 10 assists for the Reds.Lis Shoshi dropped 30 points for Ashdod while Mark Tollefsen chipped in with 17 points in a losing cause.Ashdod jumped out to a 16-9 lead after in the first six minutes thanks to a pair of Tollefsen three-pointers and six points from Shoshi, but triples by Brown, Ohayon and Feldeine put Jerusalem ahead 27-22 after 10 minutes.Shoshi and Tollefsen again took it to the Reds in the second quarter, but Feldeine’s 10 points sent Jerusalem into the break with a 53-44 lead.Feldeine continued his fine play, as Da’Sean Butler also chipped in for Hapoel, while Spencer Weisz and Shoshi – who hit a last-second half-court shot to end the third quarter – kept Ashdod hanging around (75-68).Shoshi cut the lead to just four points early on in the final frame, but buckets by Josh Owens, Lior Eliyahu and Brown sent Jerusalem on its way to victory.Also, Ness Ziona slipped by Hapoel Eliat 82-80 for its first-ever win over the Red Sea side after 13 attempts.Gary Browne and Chris Dowe helped give Ness Ziona a late 82-73 lead, but it needed to hang on as Eilat’s Avi Ben Chimol lost the ball on the final possession of the game with a chance to pull off the win.Hapoel Tel Aviv used a dominant second half to defeat Bnei Herzliya 88-68. After a close first half which saw Herzliya take a 40-39 lead into the break, Danny Franco’s squad blew open the game, outscoring the hosts 49-28 over the final 20 minutes.Richard Howell and Jamal Shuler each scored 18 points for Hapoel while Jerel McNeal added 17 points in the win. Bnei Herzliya was led by Karam Mashour, with 16 points and nine boards.Maccabi Rishon Lezion got back onto the winning track with a 71-66 victory at home over Hapoel Beersheba. With the score tied at 53-53 after 30 minutes, the hosts went on an early 9-0 fourth-quarter run to take the win.Cameron Long, with 26 points, and Alex Hamilton, with 16 points, paced Rishon while Jordan Swing scored 25 points for Beersheba.Hapoel Gilboa/Galil ended its eight-game losing streak thanks to a game-winning three-pointer by Ian Miller to defeat Nahariya 89-87.Down for most of the game, Ariel Beit Halchmi’s squad outscored the hosts 31-21 in the decisive quarter to record the hard-earned victory.James Kelly led the way for Gilboa/Galil with 26 points, while Durand Scott dropped 25 points. Terry Allen, with 21 points, and Jordan Crawford, with 20 points, were the high-scorers for Nahariya.
