Maccabi defeated Hapoel 103-90 in the first ever Euroleague Tel Aviv Derby as Lonnie Walker paced the yellow-and-blue early while Oshae Brissett and Jeff Dowtin scored key baskets late to take their first continental victory of the season.

In a Derby that was played in Sofia due to the security situation in Israel, Lonnie Walker was red hot for Maccabi to open up the game while Elijah Bryant countered for Hapoel, Oshae Brissett, Jaylen Hoard and Roman Sorkin found points while Dan Oturu and Antonio Blakeney did as well, but a triple by Bryant gave the reds a 25-24 lead after ten minutes of play. Blakeney and Chris Jones started to find the bottom of the basket while TJ Leaf did the same to begin the second quarter, Marcio Santos made his presence felt for the yellow-and-blue as did Sorkin as both squads headed into halftime all knotted up at 45-45.

Colin Malcolm and Tamir Blatt traded baskets to begin the third quarter, Walker hit a pair from deep, Bryant and Oturu scored while Sorkin and Hoard responded as Blatt and Brissett also scored as Maccabi grabbed a 72-70 lead after thirty minutes of action. Jones scored a pair of baskets to open up the final frame, but Leaf responded with two buckets of his own, Jeff Dowtin drained a couple from downtown and added a jumper, Hoard and Oturu traded dunks, Brissett joined the jam party as well as Oded Katash’s squad closed out the win.

Walker led the way with 20 points, Brissett added 19 points while Dowtin and Hoard each scored 13 points in the victory. Bryant scored 18 points, Blakeney put in 16 points and Oturu scored 15 points in the loss.

“The guys are getting used to playing together and we ended up recording a big win,” Maccabi Tel Aviv Head Coach Oded Katash began. “We stayed in the game the entire way, forced turnovers and also we were there for the rebounds. It just takes time and the guys need it to continue to play well as a unit. I am sure this win was very important for our fans aa it was a Derby, but more importantly this was a win over a very quality side.”

Jeff Dowtin talked about the win, “It was a great win and we learned a lot from the first two losses and are coming together as a group. Big Derby win for the fans. We are going through different changes and lineups and I was able to knock down the shots as I stayed aggressive. The energy was there for the big Derby game and we are happy to get our first win. We have a special group and I think we are going to shock a lot of people.”