Mac TA rallies in 4th to stave off Nahariya

Surmounting surprising challenge by bottom-feeder, yellow-and-blue keeps pace with Holon atop BSL.

By ALLON SINAI
Maccabi Tel Aviv guard DeAndre Kane (left) had 12 points and five rebounds in last night’s 95-86 win over Igor Nesterenko (right) and Ironi Nahariya in BSL action at Yad Eliyahu Arena. (photo credit: DANNY MARON)
Maccabi Tel Aviv guard DeAndre Kane (left) had 12 points and five rebounds in last night’s 95-86 win over Igor Nesterenko (right) and Ironi Nahariya in BSL action at Yad Eliyahu Arena.
(photo credit: DANNY MARON)
Maccabi Tel Aviv got back to winning ways on Sunday night, but only after surviving a scare against the struggling Ironi Nahariya.
Maccabi entered the BSL encounter on the back of a fourgame losing streak, including three consecutive losses in Euroleague action that have left it with little chance of progressing to the playoffs.
The yellow-and-blue also lost its most recent BSL game to Hapoel Holon to fall behind Dan Shamir’s team in the standings and was in trouble on Sunday when Yiftach Ziv equaled his career-high, reaching 23 points with less than seven minutes to play to give Nahariya a four-point (75-71) lead. But Maccabi would respond with a 9-0 run to seize control and remained in front on the way to a 95-86 win.
Deshaun Thomas had 22 points for Maccabi, which visits Baskonia Vitoria on Thursday in a game it must win to keep alive its lingering Euroleague playoff hopes.
Michael Roll added 15 points, while Corey Webster scored 18 points for Nahariya, which dropped to 7-14.
Earlier Sunday, Ironi Ness Ziona defeated Hapoel Tel Aviv 83-82 after going on an 11-0 run in the final two minutes. Hapoel looked to be cruising to the win when Tony Gaffney’s three-pointer opened a 10-point gap (82- 72) with just over two minutes remaining.
The visitors wouldn’t score again though, with Daequan Cook hitting two straight triples to cut the deficit to four points (82-78) before scoring the decisive free throw with 0.9 seconds to play, missing his second attempt intentionally to prevent Hapoel from reaching a good look.
Cook finished with 22 points, with Tal Dan scoring 20 for Ness Ziona, which improved to 9-12 with its fourth win from the past five games.
Jerel McNeal netted 24 points for Hapoel, which fell to 10-11 with a fifth defeat from its last six games.
BSL action continues on Monday with three games. Keith Langford will make his debut for Maccabi Rishon Lezion (8-12) when it hosts Bnei Herzliya.
Langford, who played for Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2011/12, was last season’s top scorer in the Euroleague, averaging 21.75 points per game for Unics Kazan. He began this season at Shenzhen Leopards in China, but hasn’t played in recent months.
Rishon could really use a boost after losing four of five games, while Herzliya is looking to build on its recent momentum after winning five of its past six contests.
Elsewhere, rock-bottom Maccabi Haifa (6-14) looks to get back on track when it welcomes Hapoel Gilboa/Galil (9-11), while Hapoel Eilat (10-10) visits Maccabi Ashdod (11-9).
Meanwhile, the Israel Basketball Association announced on Sunday that the under-20 European Championship will be held in Tel Aviv between July 13-21 in 2019.
The Drive-In Arena and Tichonet Arena will host the 16-team tournament.
Israel’s national team ended last summer’s championship in second place and will also take part in the 2018 edition to be held in Germany.