Hapoel Jerusalem faces Tenerife on Wednesday night in the second and decisive game of their Champions League quarterfinals series in the Canary Islands. The Reds hold a two-point lead in the series after winning 75-73 last week at the Pais Arena. Coach Oded Katash knows that he will need all hands on deck in order to advance to the Final Four of the competition, which is unofficially slated to be held in Jerusalem should the Israeli club move on. Ahead of the continental game, Jerusalem topped Ironi Nahariya 103-93 in BSL action in a game that was never that close. The Reds sported six players in double digits and led 59-48 after 20 minutes as captain Lior Eliyahu was the dominant player over the first half. Katash's squad extended its lead to 19 points at the end of three quarters and cruised to the 10-point victory. Eliyahu scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, James Feldeine added 17 points and Da'Sean Butler chipped in with 16 points for Jerusalem, while Make Henry scored 27 points for Nahariya in defeat. Meanwhile, Hapoel Holon took out Maccabi Tel Aviv 94-86 at Yad Eliyahu to not only move into first place, but also send the yellow-and-blue to its first home league loss of the season. Maccabi jumped out to a 30-15 lead after 10 minutes, but Holon – led by Corey Walden's 28 points and seven assists – dominated play over the last three quarters to take the season series 2-1. In addition to Walden, Guy Pnini scored 18 points – going 4-of-5 from beyond the arc – while Shawn Jones and Darion Atkins each dropped 13 points in the win. Jeremy Pargo (19 points) and Scottie Wilbekin (14 points) were the only Maccabi players to finish in double digits. Walden spoke to The Jerusalem Post after the game about the keys to victory. “Just be aggressive, try not to turnover the ball a lot, stick to the game plan and try not to make silly mistakes,” he said. “I think this win is good for the team and our confidence going into the rest of the round. We need to take the momentum and carry it into Europe and other Israeli games.” Also, Hapoel Tel Aviv held on to defeat Hapoel Beersheba 102-96. Danny Franco's Reds were the better team throughout the contest, and though Beersheba stormed back late in the game it wasn't enough to take down the hosts. Richard Howell looked like himself after returning from an injury a couple of weeks ago and just missed out on a triple-double with 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for Tel Aviv. Garlon Green led the Reds with 22 points and Tomer Ginat added 19 points. Jordan Swing dropped 23 points, Taylor Braun chipped with 20 points and Jakim Donaldson had 16 points for Beersheba in a losing cause. Hapoel Eilat dominated Maccabi Ashdod 92-74 as Suleiman Braimoh starred for the Red Sea city side with 25 points, while a trio of players each had 12 points in the win. Josh Carter and Mark Tollefson scored 19 points apiece for slumping Ashdod. Ness Ziona dumped Bnei Herzliya 97-86 as Tal Dunne once again flirted with a triple-double, checking in with 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists to help the hosts to the victory. Talib Zanna scored 21 points to lead Ness Ziona, which was down 31-20 after the first quarter but came back in style to record the win. Jerome Dyson scored 21 points and Jeff Adrien added 20 points and 12 boards for Herzliya in the loss. Maccabi Rishon Lezion squeaked by Hapoel Gilboa/Galil 92-88 in a back-and-forth game in the Galilee. Cameron Long led Rishon with 21 points while Diamon Simpson recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds in the win. Greg Whittington scored 23 points and pulled down 12 boards while Bryant Crawford came back after a number of months from an injury to drop 16 points for Gilboa/Galil.
