Hapoel J'lem overcomes Hap TA • Ness Ziona shocks Mac TA • Holon in 1st

Hapoel Jerusalem defeated Hapoel Tel Aviv 87-75 in Israel Basketball Winner League action following the international break. James Feldeine scored 24 points, Josh Owens added 14 points and 10 rebounds while Bar Timor added 13 points for Jerusalem. Rich Howell dropped 22 points and pulled down 14 rebounds as Jerel McNeal chipped in with 15 points in the loss. Jerusalem raced out to a 26-19 lead after 10 minutes thanks to eight points by Owens, while Howell tried to keep his side close with eight points of his own. Oded Katash's side received inspired play by captain Lior Eliyahu in the second quarter to go along with sharp shooting by Feldeine to take a 54-33 advantage into halftime. The third quarter was all Hapoel Tel Aviv as it cut the Jerusalem lead to 68-57 thanks to nine points in the frame by Howell. Danny Franco's squad brought the game to within just six points, 74-68, but following a Jerusalem timeout, Feldeine scored a bucket that was followed by a corner three-pointer by Timor to increase the lead to 80-68 and that was all she wrote as Katash's team took the 87-75 win. Timor who has played sporadically so far this season talked about the opportunity to not only be in the starting lineup but also play a significant role in the win. “I feel good. I'm happy that I was able to help and it as a good feeling that we are winning and playing well.” Elsewhere, Ness Ziona upset Maccabi Tel Aviv 83-81 on a game-winning three-pointer by Daequan Cook with 2.9 seconds left in the contest. The yellow-and-blue had just taken the lead on a John DiBartolomeo three-pointer capping off an 11-2 run, but Cook's fifth three of the evening made all the difference for coach Nadav Zilberstein's squad. Cook led all scorers with 24 points, Chris Dowe complemented him with 22 points of his own while Tal Dunne flirted with a triple-double scoring 9 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing out 7 assists. DiBartolomeo dropped 19 points and Johnny O'Bryant finished the game with a double-double, 10 points and 10 rebounds. Cook spoke exclusively to The Jerusalem Post following the game, saying “I have confidence in my jump shot. We let a few games slide, so we are happy we could prove to ourselves and the fans that we are capable of playing on this level.” Zilberstein commented on having a player like Cook on his roster. “I have never coached a shooter of this level. He gives us a lot in many aspects. He is very calm, does huge defensive work on a team level and he knows to say the right thing at the right time. He is one of our leaders,” he said. Hapoel Holon got past Maccabi Rishon Lezion 78-70, ruining Guy Goodes's debut as the wine city side's new head coach. With the score knotted up at 67-67, Darion Atkins rattled off six unanswered points to give Holon a 73-67 lead that it wouldn't relinquish. Daquan Jones led Dan Shamir's Holon with 26 points while Atkins ended the evening with 12 points. Egor Koulechov was the high scorer for Rishon with 21 points. Hapoel Eilat easily took out Macabi Ashdod 85-68 after its star guard Paul Stoll was ejected near the end of the first quarter for a serious flagrant foul on Fredric Bourdilon, changing the complexion of the game. Without Stoll, Ashdod had little chance against the potent offense of Sharon Drucker's team, which won its sixth game in a row. Suleiman Braimoh led the way for the Red Sea squad with 17 points while Lenzelle Smith Jr. clocked in with 13 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Bnei Herzliya shocked Hapoel Gilboa/Galil 105-78 thanks to six players in double digits. Without big man Jeff Adrien, Herzliya ran off a 32-12 first-quarter run thanks to nine points by Karam Mashour and never looked back. Hapoel Beersheba traveled up north to Nahariya and took home a wire-to-wire 86-61 victory. Taylor Braun dropped 21 points and Jordan Swing added 15 points for Rami Hadar's team, who lost guard Semaj Christon to an injury.

Hapoel J'lem overcomes Hap TA • Ness Ziona shocks Mac TA • Holon in 1st

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