Hapoel J’lem takes down Maccabi Ashdod, Hapoel Eilat slips by
By JOSHUA HALICKMANHAPOEL JERUSALEM forward James Feldeine scored a game-high 18 points to power the Reds to an 84-69 road rout of Maccabi Ashdod in local league action this week. (Liron Moldovan)(photo credit: LIRON MOLDOVAN/BSL)
Maccabi Tel Aviv downed Maccabi Haifa 93-75 on Sunday night as Quincy Acy starred for the yellow-and-blue with 24 points.The Greens came out strong at their home arena in Romema and took a surprise 27-22 lead after 10 minutes. But Coach Ioannis Sfairpoulos’s squad came back in the second quarter to outscore Haifa 29-14, pounding the ball inside time and time again to Acy and Othello Hunter, running away with the 18-point win.In addition to his 24 points, Acy went 4-4 from beyond the arc, and added nined rebounds to his MVP performance. Hunter added 13 points, Elijah Bryant coming back from an injury scored 13, and Deni Avdija finished the game with 11 points in 22 minutes of action in front of numerous NBA scouts. James Young, Scott Suggs and Nestor Colmenares each scored 12 points in the loss.“This was a great team win and it felt great to win on the road,” Acy said after the contest. “I felt defensively we picked it up after the first quarter, which led to our buckets. We have to do a better job at the beginning of the game, and we have to take it one game at a time.”In other action, Hapoel Jerusalem easily got by Maccabi Ashdod 84-69 at the Port City. The Reds used strong minutes from Nimrod Levi at the beginning of the game, as well as a nice offensive burst from James Feldeine at the start of the second half to pull away for the 15-point win.Feldeine led the way for Jerusalem with 18 points, Levi scored 15 points, grabbed four rebounds and added three steals, Idan Zalmanson chipped in with 10 points, seven boards and five assists, while Tamir Blatt also scored 10 points and dished out six assists. Tzuf Ben Moshe was Ashdod’s high scorer with 15 points, and LaDontae Henton added 13 points and 16 rebounds in the loss.Hapoel Eilat slipped past Hapoel Gilboa Galil 79-78 at the Red Sea City. Following a very low scoring first quarter in which the hosts held a 13-7 lead, the game opened up and stayed close throughout the remaining 30 minutes as Jamar Gulley’s last-second three-pointer to win the game for the visitors came up just short to seal the victory for Eilat.Veteran forward Jonathan Skjöldebrand scored 24 points, Rafi Menco added 17 while captain Avi Ben Chimol and Eric Thompson each added 10 points in the victory. Justin Tillman led the way for Gilboa Galil with 19 points, and Gulley added a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds in the club’s third defeat in a row.Maccabi Rishon Lezion stunned Hapoel Tel Aviv 77-74, after the Reds seemingly had the game in the bag throughout the first 36 minutes – until Adam Ariel had the final word.The Israeli forward drilled home four three-pointers over the last four minutes of the contest, with the last one coming with a second left in regulation thanks to Noam Dovrat saving the ball from going out on the last possession.Oz Blayzer led Rishon with 19 points and 16 rebounds, Jonathan Williams scored 16 points and grabbed 20 rebounds, while Ariel ended his night with 15 points. Mark Lyons scored 26 points and Jordan Hamilton added 17 points and 16 rebounds in the shock defeat.In Rishon Lezion’s second game of the week, Guy Goodes’s squad defeated Hapoel Eilat 80-74. James Kelly led the way with 17 points, Jordan Swing added 15 points, while Frederic Bourdillon chipped in with 14 points in the club’s sixth victory in a row. Jonathan Skjöldebrand topped the Eilat scorers with 21 points in the loss.Hapoel Tel Aviv also played a pair of matchups and won their second contest in overtime, dropping Hapoel Beersheba 102-97. Tomer Ginat led the way with 25 points, Latavious Williams dropped 21 points and pulled down 16 rebounds, while Jordan Hamilton added 19 points in the win. Spencer Weisz had a tremendous showing with 23 points, which included seven three-pointers, and TJ Williams chipped in with 19 points for Beersheba.Hapoel Holon exacted a bit of revenge on Nahariya with a 109-95 win, after being ousted by the northern squad in the Israel State Cup last week. Sharon Drucker’s squad dominated the first half with 66 points as they cruised to the easy victory. Marcus Foster once again starred for Holon with 25 points, draining seven three-pointers, Malachi Richardson added 24 points in arguably his best game this season, and Richard Howell and TJ Cline each dropped 18 points in the win. Jerel McNeal scored 22 points, as Jeff Adrien and Itay Segev chipped in with 15 points apiece in the loss.It took double-overtime but Hapoel Gilboa Galil finally got by Ness Ziona 115-106. Both squads played neck and neck through the first 45 minutes, but Iftach Ziv, Jamar Gulley and Edgar Sosa dominated the last period of play to snatch the win. Justin Tillman scored 34 points and added 10 rebounds, Gulley added 32 points, and Sosa chipped in with 24 points. Daequan Cook led Ness Ziona with 34 points, and Jeremy Hollowell scored 23 points in the heartbreaking home loss.
