Herzliya downed Hapoel Jerusalem 95-80 as Noah Carter and Elijah Stewart did as they pleased throughout the forty minutes to notch the victory at the HaYovel Arena. The hosts had the upper hand from the get go as half a dozen players scored in double-digits while Carter hit timely shots and played stellar defense and Stewart picked up the play in the second half to best the capital city reds. Stewart scored 23 points, Carter added 19 points while Denver Jones put in 14 points in the win, Khadeen Carrington scored 15 points and Jared Harper scored 13 points in the loss.

Chinanu Onuaku, Jordon Varnado and Denver Jones got busy for Bnei Herzliya while Jared Harper, Khadeen Carrington and Justin Smith answered for Hapoel Jerusalem but points from Max Heidegger and Noah Carter gave the hosts a 28-22 lead after ten minutes of play. Smith continued to score to open up the second quarter but Jones, Elijah Stewart and Onuaku responded, Carter and Harper traded triples, Cassius Winston drilled home a corner 3-ball, but points from Carter kept Yehu Orland’s team in front 50-46 at halftime.

Stewart and Wiley traded buckets to begin the third quarter, Carrington and Harper both hit 3-pointers, Stewart came back with a pair of baskets and Carter went from deep as Herzliya continued to lead 69-67 after thirty minutes of action. Stewart, Shalev Lugashi and Jones all scored to get the fourth quarter underway, Zoosman went from deep, Austin Wiley dunked and Carrington dialled up long distance but Varnado and Carter recorded 3-point plays and Stewart drilled home a pair of 3-pointers to close out the win.

Yehu Orland looked back on the win, “We are trying to get the players to reach their maximum potential here and we have been really working our rebounding which has made a difference for us. We are first in the league in scoring and in assists which allows our players to bring their talent which is key for us.”

Yonatan Alon spoke about the defeat, “We want to get the maximum out of all of our situations and form the loss we have to now do the same. We are missing some Israeli players in order to compete properly and that’s an issue for us right now. This was a big game and between two big games but we want to win every time we go out there. As for Yovel Zoosman we will have to see what his status is and he will be checked out.”

The game MVP Noah Carter talked about the victory, “They are a really tough team but we were really locked in and we were able to get the win. I definitely feel we have the guys who are capable of scoring and every game can be different. We are prepared and we have to put our best foot forward and guys will have good games and bad games but we have to give our top level.”

Roy Paretzky reflected on the loss, “I’m here to play for the team and injuries are part of the game but I’ll always be ready. This was a tough game and Herzliya had good momentum in a small arena and a very rough place to play coming into the game and we had trouble with the defensive rebounds.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv cruised past Hapoel Galil Elyon 86-65 as the yellow-and-blue jumped out to a double digit lead after the first quarter and never looked back to take the win. John Dibartolomeo scored 14 points while Iffe Lundberg and Will Rayman each scored 13 points in the victory while Shahar Amir scored 13 points and Cyril Langevine added 12 points in the loss.

Maccabi Tel Aviv Head Coach Oded Katash said after the game, “We played well, many good defensive minutes. It’s not an easy place to play; everything feels much more crowded than usual. When we maintained proper spacing on offense, we also played well. We almost managed to stay healthy. We hope Marcio Santos’ injury is not serious.”