Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Dubai 104-100 in overtime as Jimmy Clark starred for the yellow-and-blue while Oshae Brissett, Jaylen Hoard and Roman Sorkin all chipped in with huge baskets to take the victory. With the win, Oded Katash’s squad moved their record to 17-16 and are over .500 for the first time this season as they sit in 11th place and one spot out of a Play In place.

Mfiondu Kabengele and McKinley Wright scored for Dubai while Jimmy Clark, Will Rayman and Tamir Blatt all went from deep to give Maccabi Tel Aviv a 18-17 lead after ten minutes of play. Marcio Santos, Roman Sorkin and Jaylen Hoard all scored for the yellow-and-blue to stay in front but Dwayne Bacon, Kabengele and Wright who scored at the buzzer gave Dubai a 45-41 advantage at halftime.

Wright continued to score at will, Filip Petrusev and Bacon found the bottom of the basket as well to pull ahead by double digits but Zach Hankins and Oshae Brissett kept Oded Katash’s team in the game but down 70-63 after thirty minutes of action. Brissett continued to score as did Kabengele while Sorkin and Clark put in points but was time wound down, Brissett scored a putback off the glass to send the game to overtime.

Wright opened the extra session with a bucket, Bacon and Brissett traded triples, Clark scored a layup, Sorkin went from deep, Clark went in for an and-one, Wright went from downtown but Hoard hit his free throws to close out the win.

Clark scored 23 points and dished out 10 assists, Brissett added 19 points and Hoard put in 15 points in the victory while Wright scored 26 points, Kabengele out in 24 points and Bacon scored 16 points in the loss.

Maccabi Tel Aviv Head Coach Oded Katash spoke about the win, “We didn’t play the right way and I am surprised we scored more than 100 points, but we found a way to win it. It wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t our best game but we found a way to slow them down in kind of a zone defense. We did a better job in the second half, but they are a great team with a lot of of talent.

“The second game in a doubt week and it’s never easy and we were tired, but that’s what makes this win really special. We kept fighting and we never stopped believing which is really important. We built up our character through the season and we missed a to of players but we have a week to relax a little bit and get ready for our next game,” Katash added.

“I didn’t even know I had a double-double,” the game MVP Jimmy Clark said. “My teammates trusted me and we went out there and tried to stick to the game plan. We played together and my teammates helped me with that for sure. There was a lot of the line and we knew that and so did the other team so it was all in our mindset and a must win game.”

Oshae Brissett also spoke about the win, “We just focused on the stops. We came into the second half knowing what it was going to be as they have a lot of great offensive guys top to bottom. We knew it was going to be defense that was going to win the game and everyone who came in did a great job and rebounding as we played for one another.

“We started the season off slow but we aren’t focusing on that but the next couple of games because every game really matters right now and a lot of teams are in the same area as us and we know the next game is the most important one. We won today and we will celebrate but we have to then turn int focus to next week.”