Mac TA blows out Ashkelon

Marcus Dove had 19 points and nine rebounds for Ashkelon, which dropped to its second straight defeat to start the season.

By ALLON SINAI
MACCABI TEL AVIV’S Devin Smith 370 (photo credit: Adi Avishai)
MACCABI TEL AVIV’S Devin Smith 370
(photo credit: Adi Avishai)
Maccabi Tel Aviv improved to 2-0 in the BSL with characteristic ease on Monday night, thrashing Ironi Ashkelon 100-67 on the road.
The yellow-and-blue began the game with a 10-0 run and never looked back, rendering the second half all but meaningless after opening a 29-point gap (54-25) by the break.
David Logan led six Maccabi players in doublefigures with 16 points, while Shawn James scored 15 and Yogev Ohayon added 12 points and 10 assists for the yellow-and-blue, which will look to move to 3-0 in the Euroleague when it visits Chalon-Sur-Saone in France on Thursday.
Marcus Dove had 19 points and nine rebounds for Ashkelon, which dropped to its second straight defeat to start the season.
Also Monday, Barak Netanya claimed a dramatic 78-77 victory at Bnei Herzliya.
Netanya scored the final eight points of the first period to take an eight-point lead (25-17) and was ahead by as many as 16 points (36-20) after Eyal Shulman’s basket.
Herzliya got right back into the game with a 13-2 surge to end the first half (40-37), but Netanya had a seven-point (54-47) gap entering the final frame.
Herb Pope’s points capped a 20-2 Herzliya run to start the fourth quarter that (67-56) put the hosts in pole position to claim a second consecutive win.
But Netanya slowly ate at the lead and Marco Killingsworth tied the score from the line (75- 75) with 20 seconds to play.
Herzliya thought it had clinched the win when Niv Berkowitz scored a clutch jumper with one second remaining, but the hosts were called for a foul on Yehu Orland as time expired and Netanya’s veteran guard hit all three of his free throws to give the visitors a 2-0 start to the campaign.
Jonathan Mitchell had 22 points for Netanya, while Killingsworth scored 20. Pope led the disappointed Herzliya with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
On Wednesday, Maccabi Haifa hosts Hapoel Holon in a game postponed from the first week of the season due to Haifa’s 10-day training camp in the US during which it lost to the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves.
The winner on Wednesday will join Maccabi Tel Aviv, Netanya and Maccabi Rishon Lezion on 2-0.