Without head coach Stefanos Dedas on the sidelines due to a one-game suspension, Chris Johnson paced the Holon in the first half for assistant coach Amit Sherf, while McGee was the spark-plug over the course of the second half to notch the win.
McGee led all scorers with 26 points, six rebounds and six assists, CJ Harris added 19 points, Isaiah Miles scored 18 points and Chris Johnson chipped in with 12 points for Holon.
Suleiman Braimoh scored 22 points for Jerusalem, Stanton Kidd added 16 points, TaShawn Thomas scored 15 points and Tamir Blatt recorded a double-double with 10 points and 13 assists in the defeat.
“I’m happy that we went back to playing Holon basketball and the style of Stefanos Dedas,” Sherf explained following the contest. “We still have some things to work on, but we were able to get into the paint and also hit our three-pointers.”
Jerusalem coach Yonatan Alon noted that his team’s defensive lapses did it in.
“Our defense wasn’t good enough today and we have to focus on that,” said Alon. “We have to find some solutions. There is a lot of desire and character and everyone has to work together to play harder and battle, play defense for our fans and that will happen.”
The star of the game, McGee, was all smiles.
“I came out to be myself and stick to the coach’s game plan. I knew how important it was to beat Jerusalem after the last game against Ness Ziona which was tough. We had to come back.”
Holon’s Miles and Jerusalem’s Blatt traded early baskets, while Johnson and McGee paced Holon to a 26-23 lead after the opening frame.
Jerusalem kept up the intensity, while Guy Pnini contributed for Holon as the contest remained tight after the first half.
Braimoh scored at will for Jerusalem to get the third quarter under way, but Willy Workman and Maxim De Zeeuw kept Holon in front 62-59 midway through the period. And McGree and Miles helped bump the advantage to 79-72 after 30 minutes.
The teams stayed close in crunch time before the veteran Pnini sealed the win for Holon from deep in the final minute.
Up north, meanwhile, Hapoel Gilboa/Galil dropped Maccabi Tel Aviv 85-78 in the Galilee to go two-for-two so far this season against the defending Israeli league champion.
The yellow-and-blue held a slim one-point lead at halftime, but Avishay Gordon’s squad came out blazing in the second half and overwhelmed Ioannis Sfairopoulos’s team 32-15 in the third quarter to cruise to the victory.
Netanel Artzi and Joe Thomasson scored 15 points apiece, Kerry Blackshear added 13 points and eight rebounds while Yotam Hanochi chipped in with 10 points for Gilboa in the win.
Scottie Wilbekin led Maccabi with 22 points, Tyler Dorsey scored 17 points and Othello Hunter added 14 points in the loss.
“The third period killed our game because we didn’t execute offensively, and on the defensive side of the ball, we allowed easy points and 32 in total,” said Sfairopoulos. “We didn’t protect the paint allowing easy layups and offensive rebounds and it was apparent we weren’t mentally strong to play against a tough team.”
Gilboa’s Jehyve Floyd spoke about the importance of beating Maccabi Tel Aviv for a second time this season.
“We’re just having fun out there and coming together at the right time. We knew Maccabi was going to come out with energy because we beat them last time. With our home crowd, we just fed off the energy and were able to play solid defense and go on a big run in the third quarter. It was a statement game for us. Hopefully we can carry this momentum into the playoffs.”
Elsewhere, Hapoel Tel Aviv defeated Bnei Herzliya 99-89 in a critical bottom-of-the-standings matchup that saw the Reds move further away from the relegation zone as the second round of league games nears its conclusion.
Danny Franco’s squad jumped out to a quick lead, but the hosts quickly buckled down and took a three-point lead into halftime.
However, Tel Aviv’s strong fourth quarter – thanks to Yam Madar, Raz Adam, Bar Timor and Tyrique Jones – helped lead the Reds to the victory.
Madar scored 16 points and added 10 assists, Timor added 18 points and eight assists, Justin Tillman checked in with 17 points and Reggie Upshaw scored 15 points in the win.
Max Heidegger led Sharon Drucker’s team with 22 points and Coty Clarke added 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in a losing cause.
“This has been a very tough season for Hapoel Tel Aviv,” Franco explained. “When we made some stops in the second half and scored easy baskets we were able to create a gap big enough to score the win. We still have a long way to go and we can’t dwell on this victory.”
Herzliya coach Sharon Drucker commented on his players’ disappointment.
“We’ve come up short in close games a number of times,” said Drucker. “Some people around the club know what the situation is, while for others it’s new. We have to come together and fight. We missed a number of shots and we turned over the ball when we could have finished the game off.”
Meanwhile, Ness Ziona downed Hapoel Haifa 100-70 as Brad Greenberg’s team jumped out to a 30-17 lead after the first quarter and never looked back to notch the win and continue to climb the standings.
Wayne Selden led all scorers with 25 points, Patrick Miller added 16 points while Nimrod Levi notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Jason Siggers paced Haifa with 18 points and Keenan Evans scored 16 points in the loss for Elad Hasin’s squad.