Reds still trail undefeated Maccabi Tel Aviv in standings • Gulley propels Gilboa/Galil past Eilat
By JOSH HALICKMANMACCABI TEL AVIV forward Deni Avdija backs down the Hapoel Beersheba defense during the second half of the yellow-and-blue’s 80-63 road victory on Sunday night.(photo credit: DANNY MARON)Hapoel Jerusalem defeated Hapoel Holon 91-84 this week to up its record to 10-1 in Israel Winner League play.The Reds were in control for the majority of the matchup, but Holon showed its new coach Stefanos Dedas that he has something to work with and that the club could compete with the second-place squad with quality runs in the second and third quarters.However, Oded Katash’s crew – though playing with a short rotation – showed its quality and was able to withstand the Holon pressure to record the victory.Suleiman Braimoh led the way for the Reds with 25 points, 10 rebounds and three steals, James Feldeine added 20 points while TaShawn Thomas dropped 16 points and grabbed 11 boards in the win.Marcus Foster and Troy Caupain each scored 23 points and T.J. Cline chipped in with 15 points for Holon in the loss.Feldeine scored 11 points early to give Jerusalem a quick 20-9 lead midway through the first quarter. Foster supplied the early offense for Holon, but Nimrod Levi and Thomas also found the basket for Jerusalem, which held a 26-20 advantage after 10 minutes.Holon came out on fire to start the second quarter as Ryan Thompson, Foster and Caupain helped the visitors take a 35-32 lead with six minutes remaining in the half. Caupain continued to find the bottom of the basket, but a J’Covan Brown jumper and Braimoh triple pulled Katash’s squad to within three points (42-39) while two Thomas free throws and a pair of layups, as well as another Braimoh three-pointer, gave the hosts a 51-44 lead at halftime.Braimoh stayed hot, but Thompson, Cline and Angel Delgado countered to pull Holon even at 60-60 midway through the third quarter. Feldeine hit a three and then a layup for the Reds while Bar Timor drilled a triple as well, but Caupain and Foster kept Dedas’s squad hanging around, down 74-69 after 30 minutes.Brown and Braimoh drained shots from beyond the arc to start the fourth quarter to give Jerusalem an 81-72 advantage with five-and-a-half minutes left in regulation. Thompson and Foster tried to keep Holon in the game, but points by Braimoh and Thomas from the charity stripe and a bucket by Feldeine wrapped up the seven-point home win for Jerusalem.Meanwhile, Maccabi Rishon Lezion beat Hapoel Tel Aviv 94-85 to get back onto the winning track after two straight losses. The TA Reds held a three-point lead at halftime (52-49), but host Rishon clamped down on defense to hold the visitors to just 11 points in the third quarter to take the win.Darryl Monroe, who returned last week against Jerusalem and had only played two minutes, clocked in with 33 minutes and scored 20 points while pulling down 14 rebounds. Alex Hamilton dropped 24 points, while Frederic Bourdillon added 13 points in the win for Guy Goodes’s squad.Tomer Ginat led Tel Aviv with 15 points and the trio of Mark Lyons, Yam Madar and Jordan Hamilton each scored 13 points in defeat.Elsewhere, first-place Maccabi Tel Aviv easily disposed of Hapoel Beersheba 80-63 down south as Ioannis Sfairopoulos’s team controlled the game for the full 40 minutes to notch the victory.Jake Cohen picked up MVP honors for the second straight week with 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists, Quincy Acy added 18 points while Tyler Dorsey scored 10 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out eight assists for the yellow-and-blue.Amit Simhon led Rami Hadar’s losing squad with 16 points after joining the club earlier in the week while Spencer Weisz chipped in with 15 points.Hapoel Gilboa/Galil took advantage of a terrific second half and some Jamar Gulley heroics to defeat Hapoel Eilat 76-74 in the Galilee. With Gilboa/Galil down 74-72 with under a minute remaining, Gulley scored a pair of free throws to pull even and then followed that up with a jumper over Kyvon Davenport to take the two-point win.Justin Tillman and Gulley each scored 23 points and Edgar Sosa added 14 points in the win while Rafi Menco led Eilat with 19 points and Jonathan Skoljebrand scored 18 points in the loss.Maccabi Ashdod topped Ness Ziona 97-88 thanks to a huge fourth quarter as six players scored in double figures for Brad Greenberg’s team. This was the port city squad’s second win of the season as the club brought in two new players in veteran point guard Paul Stoll and big man Ike Ofoegbu.LaDontae Henton led Ashdod with 23 points, Ofoegbu added 17 points and Lior Eliyahu chipped in with a 14-point and 14-rebound performance. Corey Fisher was Ness Ziona’s high scorer with 18 points while Jeff Withey added 16 points in the loss.Maccabi Haifa defeated Ironi Nahariya 84-78 to win its second game in a row. The Greens kept the game under control for the majority of the contest as their defense held Nahariya to a paltry 3-of-24 (12.5%) from three-point range.James Young starred for Haifa with 23 points while Nestor Colmenares scored 15 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Dominic Waters led Nahariya with 19 points in a losing effort.
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