Hapoel Jerusalem’s season continued to gather pace on Sunday night with a 103-92
victory over Maccabi Haifa, its fourth BSL win in the past five
games.
Despite playing without starters Donta Smith and James Thomas,
Haifa scored with ease in the first period against Jerusalem’s scandalous
defense, taking a double-digit margin (28- 16) into the second
quarter.
However, Jerusalem came back with a 13-2 run capped by a Craig
Smith three-point play and there was nothing to separate the teams at the break
(46-46).
A tight third frame followed, but three straight triples, two by
Raviv Limonad, inspired a game-winning 13-0 Jerusalem surge (95-80) midway
through the fourth quarter.
Courtney Fells led Jerusalem (5-4) with 22
points, hitting six threes, with Josh Duncan contributing 19 points and 10
boards.
Paul Stoll had 27 points for Haifa (6-3), with Gal Mekel adding
24 points and 12 assists.
Hapoel Eilat showed no signs of slowing down on
Sunday night, claiming its sixth win in its past seven games with an 83-73 home
victory over Maccabi Ashdod.
The hosts opened the game with a 7-0 run,
but Ashdod came right back and was within striking distance until Eilat went on
a late 12-2 rally (81-68) to clinch yet another win.
Scotty Hopson led
Eilat with 20 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Mardy Collins had 25
points for Ashdod, which fell to 1-7.
Hapoel Tel Aviv rebounded from two
straight defeats with an 88-86 home triumph over the languishing Hapoel
Holon.
Tel Aviv opened a double-digit gap (32-22) in the first quarter,
but allowed Holon back into the game in the second half before holding on to gut
out a hard-thought win.
Demontez Stitt led five Tel Aviv players in
double digits with 20 points, with Bar Timor scoring 16.
Jerome Dyson had
30 points for Holon, which dropped to 3-6 after losing its fifth straight
game.
Also Sunday, Ironi Ashkelon won its third straight contest, beating
Maccabi Rishon Lezion 92-80.
Julien Mills had 24 points and 10 rebounds
for Ashkelon, with Willie Warren scoring 18 for Rishon, which lost for the
fourth time in five games since handing Maccabi Tel Aviv its only defeat of the
BSL season to date.
On Monday, Barak Netanya welcomes Maccabi Tel Aviv
and Hapoel Gilboa/Galil visits Bnei Herzliya.
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