Hap Jeruslem shocked by Givat Shmuel

Hapoel Jerusalem fell to defeat against Givat Shmuel in Thursday night's BSL action.

By SHARON SOLOMON, AVI CREDITOR
Hapoel Jerusalem fell to defeat against Givat Shmuel in the biggest shock of Thursday night's BSL action. Oded Katash's Galil Elyon suffered also suffered a surprise home loss to Elitzur Ashkelon; while Ironi Nahariya sent Ironi Ramat Gan packing in a one sided game. Yaacov Geno and Bnei Hasharon played a careless second half and fell prey to Effi Birenboim's Hapoel Tel Aviv for the third straight time this season. Hapoel Jerusalem 75 Givat Shmuel 67 Timmy Bowers poured in 36 points (10-16 fg, 14-16 ft)to singlehandedly lift Givat Shmuel to a 75-67 upset over second placed Hapoel Jerusalem at Malha. Bower's former college team-mate at Missississippi State University Jerusalem center Mario Austin bounced back from a rough outing against Maccabi Tel Aviv at the weekend to lead the shorthanded reds with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Horace Jenkins and Erez Markovic sat out the contest with their respective injuries. Amit Tamir added 13 points and seven rebounds and Jason Straight chipped in with 10 points for Givat Shmuel which pulled off its second straight upset after knocking off Maccabi Rishon in triple overtime its last time out. Galil Elyon 82, Elitzur Ashkelon Lior Eliyahu made an impressive start to the game and dominated the paint against the ineffective Brendon Kurtz. The young forward also showed his prowess in attack by finishing with 12 points in the first half, including two three-pointers. But Ashkelon retaliated with their dynamic backcourt of Brian Tolbert and James Head, who combined for 25 points to reduce the deficit to 39-43 at halftime. Yogev Ohayon showed his worth in the second half and ran the point with astonishing fluency. The slick guard finished the game with 12 points and 5 assists. But Tolbert kept Ashkelon in the game all along and went on to score 27 points, including four three-pointers. Head added 24 points. But it was Elvin Snow who struck with fury in the final minutes of the game and gave the visitors the victory. The sharpshooter buried two tough shots from downtown and gave the visitors the lead, which stayed intact until the final buzzer. Ironi Nahariya 87, Ironi Ramat Gan 68 Tunji Awojobi powered Ramat Gan to a strong 7-0 run in the opening minutes, resulting in an overwhelming 26-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. Awojobi had no less than 12 points in the first period. But Nahariya switched to zone defence in the second period and made their way back into the game, thanks to a brilliant effort by Alvin Young. The physical swingman started off on a weak note, but compensated with a couple of treys to give his team a halftime lead of 43-39. Otis Hill scored only two points in the first half but scored 10 points later in the game and sparked the hosts to the win. Hill also grabbed eight rebounds. Young finished with a total of 22 points, including three successful attempts from beyond the arch. "Ramat Gan did a good job today." Nahariya coach Avi Ashkenazi told reporters after the game. "They crashed the boards all along, but our second half was very convincing and I am happy with the hard earned win." Hapoel Tel Aviv 81, Bnei Hasharon 66 The hosts failed to play their open game against Yaacov Geno's defensive Bnei Hasharon and fell behind 19-28. But Tel Aviv improved their defence in the second quarter and cut the visitors lead to only 8 at halftime. (46-38) But the second half was a different story. Bnei Hasharon turned over the ball on numerous occasions and Osamin Cisse's fourth foul enabled Tel Aviv to regain lost ground and make it a four point game.