Jerusalem continues excellent form to steamroll Holon

Hapoel topped 90 points for a third straight game.

By ALLON SINAI
Hapoel Jerusalem forward Lior Eliyahu (photo credit: LIRON MOLDOVAN/BSL)
Hapoel Jerusalem forward Lior Eliyahu
(photo credit: LIRON MOLDOVAN/BSL)
Hapoel Jerusalem made it nine wins from 10 BSL games in resounding fashion on Monday night, thrashing Hapoel Holon 93-58 at the Jerusalem Arena.
Hapoel topped 90 points for a third straight game and closed back to within four games of league-leader Maccabi Tel Aviv after all but securing the victory by halftime.
An 8-0 run to end the first period gave Jerusalem a double-digit gap (21-9), which reached 19 points after the hosts also scored the first seven points of the second quarter.
Jerusalem’s lead mushroomed to 30 points (40-10) before too long and the rest of the game was no more than garbage time.
New signing Deon Thompson led Jerusalem with 23 points and nine rebounds, with Lior Eliyahu adding 19 points for the hosts, who improved to 19-7.
Tony Crocker had 15 points for Holon (14-12).
Meanwhile, Hapoel Eilat (12- 14) moved ahead of Bnei Herzliya (11-15) in the battle for a playoff berth on Monday, claiming an 89-78 win.
Eilat scored eight of the final 10 points of the first half to open a double-digit gap (50-40) and maintained complete control until the final buzzer.
Khalif Wyatt and Kevin Palmer led five Eilat players in double figures with 19 points each. Jasper Johnson had 18 points for Herzliya.
Ironi Ness Ziona (13-13) claimed its second straight win after losing eight of its previous nine games on Monday, defeating Ironi Nahariya (10-16) 86-81 in overtime.
The hosts, which led by as many as 11 points, had two chances to win the game in regulation, but both Eran Asenti and John Williamson missed their shots in the team’s final possession.
Ness Ziona made the most of the reprieve, complicating Nahariya in the battle against relegation once more.
Anthony Goods had 23 points for Ness Ziona, while Mark Lyons scored 22 points for Nahariya.
Robert Rothbart recorded his eight straight double-double for Nahariya, finishing with 12 points and 14 rebounds.
Also Monday, Maccabi Rishon Lezion (14-12) beat Maccabi Ashdod (7-19) 78-62. Jackie Carmichael scored 16 points for Rishon, with James Nunnally finishing with 19 points for Ashdod.