Hap J’lem suffers setback with road loss to Ashdod
01/29/2013 01:26
Just when it seemed Hapoel Jerusalem had finally found the winning formula, the Reds suffered a humbling 95-78 defeat.
Sharon Drucker Photo: Adi Avishai
Just when it seemed Hapoel Jerusalem had finally found the winning formula, the
Reds suffered a humbling 95-78 defeat at Maccabi Ashdod in BSL action on Monday
night.
Jerusalem showed promising signs in winning its previous two
games, but reverted to its poor form from the start of the season on Monday and
was easily beaten by an improving Ashdod team.
A 16-4 Ashdod run gave the
hosts a 43-30 lead, but Jerusalem limited the damage by the break, trailing by
just seven points (45-38).
However, it was outscored 27-15 in the third
period, giving Ashdod an unassailable 19-point gap (72-53) with 10 minutes to
play.
Austin Freeman had 19 points for Ashdod, with Mardy Collins, Jamie
Skeen and Moshe Mizrahi scoring 18, 17 and 16 points, respectively.
“We
defended well for most of the game and I’m really pleased with our play,” said
Ashdod coach Ofer Berkowitz after seeing his team win for the fourth time in
five games to improve to 6-9.
“We have gelled in recent weeks and we need
to build on our improved play.”
Craig Smith led Jerusalem with 17
points.
“We are in the end of January and we haven’t looked this bad all
season,” said Drucker. “Maybe we got a little arrogant after our recent wins and
thought that we would win the game just because we are Hapoel
Jerusalem.”
Hapoel Tel Aviv’s slump continued on Monday, with Erez
Edelstein’s team losing 69-60 to Maccabi Rishon Lezion, its seventh defeat in
nine games.
Rishon had a six-point edge (35-29) at halftime and remained
in control after extending its margin to doubledigits (43-33) in the third
quarter.
Willie Warren scored 25 points for Rishon, with Julian Wright
adding 15 points and 11 boards for Roni Bosani’s men, who bounced back from last
week’s 23-point drubbing at the hands of Maccabi Tel Aviv.
“This is a
very important win for us as the table is so tight at the moment,” said Bosani
after his team improved to 7-8.
Curtis Kelly had 20 points and 12 boards
for Hapoel, which dropped to 6-9 and looks set to battle against relegation
until the end of the season.