Bnei Hasharon wins battle of pretenders

Bnei Hasharon beat Ironi Nahariya 79-74 Monday night and climbed to second place in the BSL in Week 8.

By ALLON SINAI
football generic 88 (photo credit: )
football generic 88
(photo credit: )
Bnei Hasharon beat Ironi Nahariya 79-74 Monday night and climbed to second place in the BSL in Week 8. Visiting Bnei Hasharon trailed by 13 points at halftime, but a 25-5 run in the third quarter secured the win. Nahariya was the sharper side at the start of the game and led by eight points (26-18) after the first period. A three-pointer by Vedran Vukusic (15 points) put Nahariya up 36-21 and it led at halftime 48-35. Bnei Hasharon began to eat away at the lead at the start of the third period and Cookie Belcher's (24 points) three tied the score at 53-53. The visitors continued to surge forward and two successful free-throws by Jason Williams (19 points, seven rebounds) capped the 25-5 run (60-53). Nahariya lost its first home game of the season. Maccabi Tel Aviv 89, Maccabi Rishon Lezion 73 Maccabi Tel Aviv maintained its unblemished start to the BSL season with a win in Rishon Lezion. Tel Aviv was led by Jamie Arnold, who scored 20 points and took nine rebounds, and Simas Jasaitis, who had 19 points, including five threes. Rishon Lezion began the game with an 8-0 run. Tel Aviv scored its first basket three minutes into the game, but edged ahead after 10 minutes 22-19. Rishon regained the lead (29-28) at the start of the second quarter thanks to Ryan Sidney's lay-up. But then Tel Aviv stormed ahead. Seven straight points by Nikola Vujcic gave Tel Aviv a 14-point advantage and it led 46-31 at halftime. The third and fourth periods were garbage time, as Rishon conceded defeat. Hapoel Afula/Gilboa 91, Maccabi Givat Shmuel 79 Hapoel Afula/Gilboa won its third game of the season, beating last-place Maccabi Givat Shmuel. Host Afula/Gilboa was led by Jermaine Hall, who scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds. He scored 10 points in the first period to help his side to a 28-19 lead. Givat Shmuel began the second period with an 8-0 run and came within one point. But Afula/Gilboa held on and Guni Izraeli's three at the end of the half gave his team a 48-37 advantage. Ironi Ramat Gan 91, Elitzur Ashkelon 83 Ironi Ramat Gan got an important win in its fight against relegation, defeating Elitzur Ashkelon. Led by Torraye Braggs, who scored 25 points, Ramat Gan earned its third victory.