Maccabi Tel Aviv needed two overtime periods to beat a feisty Hapoel Eilat 101-95 to get back onto the winning track.
The Red Sea squad played the yellow-and-blue tooth and nail throughout the extended 50 minutes of action as Bryon Allen shot lights out with 38 points, putting Ioannis Sfairopoulos’s team on the ropes numerous times throughout the game.
However, Jalen Reynolds controlled the paint while Scottie Wilbekin, Roman Sorkin and James Nunnally added critical buckets down the stretch for Maccabi to finally hand the hosts the victory.
“I want to congratulate the players for the win, it was not easy,” Sfairopoulos said following the contest. “We started the game really well and played very good defense, allowing only 11 points in the first quarter, but in the fourth period, they scored a lot of tough shots and got the lead. After that, we changed the defense and doubled-teamed Bryon Allen who was their best scorer.
“Slowly, slowly we broke Eilat, who were very good, and we won the game in the second overtime. This is a very important win and we will keep learning that we have to be more consistent both offensively and defensively. I want to congratulate Eilat and their coach.”
Ariel Beit Halachmi lamented his side’s tough defeat.
“This is one of the cruelest losses in my career for a game like this to get away from us,” he said. “If there was someone deserving in sports, it was us. This is one of the games where your heart is just broken. The players were just great.”
Maccabi’s Sorkin also spoke about the win.
“When we are in the lead, we have to stay in the lead. We can’t take any team lightly. We have to listen to the coach and do the correct things, but most importantly is that we won the game. We are expected to win and we have to deliver the goods.”
Reynolds led Maccabi with 24 points and 10 rebounds, Nunnally added 18 points and Sorkin chipped in with 13 points in the victory.
Allen scored a game-high 38, Patton added 14 points and Miron Ruina scored 12 points and grabbed 10 boards for Eilat in the loss.
Meanwhile, Bnei Herzliya downed Hapoel Jerusalem 85-79 in an entertaining clash on Belgium Heritage Night celebrating the Belgian players on either side in Andy Van Vliet and Retin Obasohan, respectively.
Oren Aharoni’s squad came out strong as Chris Babb, Quinton Hooker and Chinanu Onuaku led the hosts to a 45-33 halftime lead.
However, Obasohan along with Jalen Adams brought Yotam Halperin’s team all the way back to tie up the game at 63-63 after 30 minutes before fittingly Van Vliet hit a pair of huge triples from downtown to take give Herzliya hard-earned win.
“We controlled the majority of the game and we played well,” Aharoni said following the game. “The first half was one of our best this season and Jerusalem is one of the best teams and ended up making a run in the third quarter. But we made some big plays down the stretch.”
Halperin was unimpressed with his side’s play.
“This was perhaps the worst game of the four that I coached,” said the Jerusalem coach. “We didn’t start well and we lost the game already in the first half. The team is lacking in certain areas and we are constantly looking to see where we can improve.”
Elsewhere, Hapoel Tel Aviv downed Hapoel Holon 67-62 to notch its second win of the season after having fallen in dramatic fashion last week to Hapoel Galil Elyon.
J’Covan Brown’s clutch shooting – to go along with the Reds’ high energy and tough defense while out-rebounding the Purples 55-28 – helped Danny Franco’s squad to the victory.
Brown scored 15 points to lead Tel Aviv as James Young added 12 points and JP Tokoto chipped in with 11 points and 15 rebounds in the win. Michale Kyser was Maurizio Buscaglia’s high scorer as Chris Johnson added 10 points in the loss.
“There was a lot of desire in the last game, but there was a lot of pressure to want to win and they were thinking too much,” Franco began. “We put in a very hard week of work and the fans came and filled up the arena. We now have to come back down to earth and look ahead.”
Brown also reflected on the victory.
“This was a very important win and we needed it. We had to battle and that’s what we did. I look at myself as the leader and I took the shots that I had to take, and I have to credit my teammates as this was a time where we needed to show character.”
Meanwhile, Ness Ziona nipped Hapoel Beersheba 96-91 in overtime to win its third consecutive game after orchestrating a 17-point second-half comeback to tie the game up to send it to the extra session.
Following a 40-38 first half in favor of Rami Hadar’s Southern Reds, his team broke away in the third quarter thanks to stellar shooting by Cody Demps and inside play from Dererk Pardon.
However, Frank Bartley and Diante Garrett helped Lior Lubin’s team knot the game up at 78-78 at the end of regulation time as Nimrod Tishman hit a clutch triple while Ike Nwamu along with the aforementioned Bartley and Garrett all hit free-throws down the stretch to take the win.
“Great team win,” said Bartley. “We showed a lot of fight and resilience. We made winning plays down the stretch and secured the win in a tough environment. I’m proud of the progress we’ve made and that we’re continuing to make weekly.”
In the Galilee derby, Hapoel Gilboa/Galil got the better of Hapoel Galil Elyon 85-74 as London Perrantes paced the visitors to the victory.
Gilboa’s point guard scored 24 points and added eight assists as he orchestrated Guy Kaplan’s team to perfection in the win. Yotam Hanochi and Ronnie Harrell each scored 14 points and Sacha Killeya-Jones added 13 points in the win as Bryce Washington with 15 points, Chavaughn Lewis (14 points) and Nimrod Levi (13 points) led Barak Peleg’s team in the defeat.
“It was a tough road game with a hostile crowd,” said Perrantes, the game’s MVP. “We played very well defensively and held them to under 80 points, which always gives us a chance to win. Everybody stepped up from the bench to the starters and we just played hard.”
Up north by the Carmel Mountain, Hapoel Haifa nipped Maccabi Rishon Lezion 98-94 as five players featured in double digits for the Reds in the win.
Amit Simhon led the way with 26 points thanks to six three-pointers, Scottie James added 14 points while Kadeem Allen and Spencer Weisz each scored 13 points in the win.
Kris Clyburn and Netanel Artzi were Rishon’s high scorers with 24 points apiece as Maurice Kemp added 15 points in the loss.
“I am happy that we won,” said Simhon. “This was a super important win for us and we worked very hard this past week in order to accomplish that. But we have to stay grounded, enjoy the win for now, but tomorrow we have to already focus on our next game against Jerusalem.”