Basketball: Maccabi Tel Aviv survives scare to beat Nahariya
Five of Maccabi’s league wins have come by six points or fewer.
By ALLON SINAI
Despite improving to a 9-1 record in the BSL on Saturday night, Maccabi Tel Aviv had to dig deeper than expected yet again to avoid an upset, beating Ironi Nahariya 99-93 in overtime at Yad Eliyahu Arena.Five of Maccabi’s league wins have come by six points or fewer, including a tense 83-81 victory over Maccabi Haifa in its previous BSL game last Sunday.Nahariya missed a chance to win the game at the end of regulation when Derwin Kitchen turned the ball over in his team’s final possession.Maccabi claimed the win despite scoring just one field-goal in the final seven minutes of the fourth quarter and the entire overtime. The yellowand- blue’s final eight points in regulation, as well as eight of 10 points in the extra five minutes, came from the free-throw line.Andrew Goudelock led six Maccabi players in double figures with 22 points.“I didn’t like what I saw, especially in the first half,” said Maccabi coach Rami Hadar. “We can’t hide the fact that we are experiencing a dip in form at the moment. We will need to find a way to break out of it.”Maccabi will already be back in action on Monday when it hosts Hapoel Gilboa/ Galil in BSL action before traveling to Serbia for Thursday’s Euroleague clash with Red Star Belgrade, hoping to snap a two-game losing streak in the competition.Yancy Gates and Gilbert Brown had 19 points each for Nahariya, which fell to 3-7 after losing to Maccabi in overtime for the second time this season.Elsewhere Saturday, Hapoel Holon took sole possession of second place with an 81-74 win at Bnei Herzliya.Khalif Wyatt had 23 points for Holon, which improved to 7-3, while Jeff Adrien scored 16 points for Herzliya, which dropped to 6-4 with its first defeat in five games.Hapoel Tel Aviv improved to 6-4 on Saturday, defeating Maccabi Ashdod 85-68.Alando Tucker netted 20 points for Hapoel, while Chase Simon had 20 for Ashdod, which fell to 3-7.On Sunday, Hapoel Jerusalem hosts Hapoel Eilat and Maccabi Haifa welcomes Maccabi Rishon Lezion.
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