Maccabi Haifa back to winning ways in BSL

Maccabi Haifa got its BSL campaign back on track, beating Barak Netanya 79-68 on the road.

By ALLON SINAI
Maccabi Haifa's Ido Kozikaro 370 (photo credit: Asaf Kliger)
Maccabi Haifa's Ido Kozikaro 370
(photo credit: Asaf Kliger)
Maccabi Haifa got its BSL campaign back on track on Monday night, beating Barak Netanya 79-68 on the road.
Haifa impressed on its way to the State Cup final two weeks ago before being edged by Maccabi Tel Aviv, but it failed to translate its form to league play, losing to Hapoel Tel Aviv last week.
However, the Greens finally returned to winning ways in Netanya on Monday, clinching the victory after outscoring the hosts 24-12 in the fourth quarter.
Netanya led 57-56 after three periods, but Haifa dominated the final 10 minutes and improved to 10-7, equal to the second-best record in the league also held by Hapoel Jerusalem and Hapoel Eilat.
Donta Smith had 20 points for Haifa, with James Thomas adding 12 points and 14 rebounds. Deron Washington had 16 points for Netanya, which dropped to 9-8 with its first defeat in three games.
Hapoel Gilboa/Galil recorded an important win in the battle against relegation on Monday, beating fellow-struggler Hapoel Tel Aviv 82-67.
Gilboa outscored the visitors 25-19 in the first quarter, but it was Tel Aviv which held a 39-35 lead at the break.
However, Tel Aviv would score just 14 points in each of the next two periods and Gilboa snapped a two-game losing skid to improve to 6-11.
Rakim Sanders had 25 points for Gilboa, with new signing Brian Randle and Curtis Kelly scoring 14 points each for Tel Aviv (7- 10), which had to host the game at Malha Arena in Jerusalem due to its fans’ unruliness.