Maccabi Rishon Le’Zion downed Nes Ziona 72-63 as Golan Gutt starred for the wine city squad to get back his team back onto the winning track. With the win, Rishon moved their record to 6-10 while Nes Ziona dropped to 5-11 with the defeat.

Shawn Dawson and Yuri Collins opened the scoring for Nes Ziona while Josh Freund and Khalil Ahmad responded for Maccabi Rishon Le’Zion as the first waiter ended all knotted up at 19-19. Qua Grant, Amin Stevens and Nijal Pearson all scored for Guy Kaplan’s squad while Bryce Brown, Udoka Azubuke and Jackson Rowe countered but Rishon held a 42-36 advantage at halftime.

Jackson Rowe and Brown started to cut into the Rishon lead but a stellar third quarter from Qua Grant kept the visitors in front 58-55 after thirty minutes of action. Stevens and Gutt took control of the final frame as Grant closed out the 9-point win. Grant scored 16 points, Ahmad added 14 points and Gutt chipped in with 13 points while Brown and Azubuike each scored 12 points a piece.

Rishon Le’Zion Head Coach Guy Kaplan talked about the win, “We started a bit slow and I needed to take a timeout which was typical of a Friday afternoon game on the road. It took us time to get our offensive game going, but we have a very good defensive game that kept us with our heads above water and we were able to take the win. We want to be a winning team and one that will compete and continue to grow over the course of the season especially for our great crowd.”

Nes Ziona Head Coach Meir Tapiro spoke about the loss, “Other than the start of the game we weren’t able to do anything offensively and we are trying to get the players together as a team which takes time. We are trying things to get the team at a point where it is balanced on both ends of the floor. We’re not there yet and we are trying to get there.”

The MVP Golan Gutt reflected on the victory, “This was a difficult game and there were lot of ups and downs and a game with plenty of pace as well. We played very good defensively and we pressed them very well which helped us take the win.”

“Personally I felt really good in this game and I really needed this performance as well, I’m happy that I was able to contribute on both ends of the court. As for the key steal in the last quarter I saw that Rowe’s body was turned to the side and there was a lot of pressure and noise from the fans I felt the game was going well and I took the chance which worked out well.”

Jackson Rowe spoke about the defeat, “Nes Ziona is struggling to find our identity as a team and we are playing like a team that doesn’t care about each other and the fans see it too. We played well defensively but its more than just the defense. We have to play like a team that cares about one another and not about individuals. We can only succeed as a team.”