Hapoel Haifa downed Nahariya 92-84 thanks to a tremendous 29-9 third quarter by Keenan Evans, Lennard Freeman, Jason Siggers and Rakeem Buckles to help Elad Hasin’s squad to the win despite Kalin Lucas’s 32 points for Danny Franco’s team. Evans led the way with 20 points, 11 assists and a 37 efficiency rating, Freeman added 17 points and 8 rebounds, Siggers out in 15 points and 7 assists while Buckles notched 14 points in the victory. In addition to Lucas’s 32 points while Joe Alexander chipped in with 18 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
20 points, 11 assists and a big W with @HapoelHaifaBC for @K3vans12 tonight pic.twitter.com/nh95yRo3ly
— Winner League (@WinnerLeague) November 12, 2020
Keenan Evans is stud, plain and simple what a great player, what a privilege to have him in Israel and I had the privilege to talk to him on my Sports Rabbi Show this past week. It doesn’t get any better than that. Here’s what Evans have to say after the win, “The keys to the win was just coming into the game and playing aggressive and fast which is our style. We want to make them play our game and not theirs. The team is feeling good but we know we have a lot to improve on and that we need to stay level headed because we have another game on Monday.” Yep, the games are coming fast and furious and Haifa will have a terrific test in Hapoel Eilat. Exciting times in Israeli basketball.
Hapoel Beer Sheva continued their fine play as they defeated Maccabi Rishon Le’Zion 98-84 as the hosts took a 15 point lead into halftime and never looked back. Once again Caleb Agada was superb for Rami Hadar’s squad with 25 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists for an efficiency rating of 34, Eric Griffin scored points, Travis Warech added 14 points, Amit Suss notched 14 points while Amir Bell broke out with 11 points and 9 assists in the win. Trey Lewis led the way for Rishon with 22 points, Golan Gutt added 18 points and Isaiah Taylor scored 15 points in the loss.
Beer Sheva is off to a hot start in Israeli league play with two out of two this early season. With a pair of wins under their belt already, Beer Sheva is building confidence down south and that’s good news. The reason for the good start? Excellent from the foreign players, the Israeli veteran players and the youngsters. When everything clicks it just clicks. Above all however, has been the play of Caleb Agada who joined Beer Sheva at the end of last season and what a signing it has been for the southern Reds. Agada is one of the most humble people you will ever, ever meet, “The way I have been playing is a testament to Beer Sheva. The city, the club, the coaches and my teammates. I’m very comfortable and happy here. Since I arrived I’ve grown tremendously as a player, I take pride in growing and constantly getting better, and the positive environment of Beer Sheva has made my growth easier and more efficient.” The sky’s the limit for Agada and his future is getting brighter by the minute.
Hapoel Tel Aviv just slipped by Nes Ziona 82-80 as veteran guard Bar Timor drilled home a crucial 3-pointer with 34 seconds left in the game to give the Reds the lead and the win. Timor ended the night with 20 points, Yam Madar added 17 points and 7 assists ahead of the NBA Draft and Reggie Upshaw scored 13 points in the victory. Patrick Miller led the visitors with 19 points and 10 assists, Kwan Cheatham added 13 points and Tal Dunne chipped in with 12 points in the loss.
בר טימור שבר שוויון בשלשה גדולה וסידר ל-@HapoelTLVBC ניצחון ראשון העונה בליגה #המהלך_המנצח pic.twitter.com/TqFSaUGpt8
— Winner League (@WinnerLeague) November 12, 2020
It hasn’t been easy for the Reds so far this young season but they got the job done against Nes Ziona and took their maiden win of the campaign. One of the best players for Hapoel has been Bar Timor as the veteran guard has flourished under head coach Ioannis Kastritis since arriving from his days with Hapoel Jerusalem and Oded Katash. Timor is playing a huge role for the team and is on the court for 30 minutes a game which is massive difference than previous years. He nailed the game winner, scored 20 points and went 4/4 from 3-point land. “The most important thing was that we won the game. We still have a long way to go for us to get better but we have a great group of guys who want to work hard and listen to the coach. We have a lot to learn in order to help things get easier.”
Hapoel Gilboa Galil got by Maccabi Haifa 82-77 as Lior Lubin’s big men Jehyve Floyd and Kerry Blackshear dominated the paint to combine for 30 points, 17 rebounds and 3 blocks. Joe Thomasson added 17 points, Iftach Ziv put up 14 and Netanel Artzi scored 13 in the win. Michael Brisker scored his career high with 18 points, Davon Jefferson added 16 points and Chris Dowe chipped in with 15 points for Daniel Seoane’s team in the defeat.
.@jehyve_floyd & @gilboagalil are 3-0 already… pic.twitter.com/ySgG3BmtE5
— Winner League (@WinnerLeague) November 12, 2020
I’m loving what Lior Lubin has built at Gilboa Galil, as the team sits in first place with a 3-0 record. Pretty impressive for the team that sits in the middle of the Galilee and pretty far from civilization! Gan New is small community really in the middle of nowheres but it serves all of the small towns and neighborhoods for miles on end. For the most part the only the you can do is play basketball and that’s been great for so many players. One of the club’s new recruits is Jehyve Floyd who played his college ball at Holy Cross and arrived from Greece after a season at Larissa at the tender age of 23. Gilboa may be a young team but they are growing by leaps and bounds, “We needed a game like this to grind it out and show our maturity as a team,” said Floyd. “It was up and down but we came up big with a couple plays down the stretch.” As for his time in the Holy Land so far? “It’s been good adjusting to Israel. Basketball over here fits my style and I’m able to showcase my athleticism. I’m just getting started.”
Hapoel Eilat walloped Bnei Herzliya 103-78 as six players featured in double digits for Ariel Beit Halachmi’s squad. The Red Sea City squad jumped out to a quick 35-19 lead after ten minutes and put away the game early. Casey Prather led the way with 19 points, Markel Brown scored 18 points, Joe Ragland added 11 points and 7 assists while Ben Carter notched 13 points in the win. Gabe Levin was the high scorer for Sharon Drucker’s team with 17 points and Jaylen Morris scored 14 points for Herzliya.
Ben Carter, who was called up to the Israel National Team has been fantastic since signing with Eilat for the end of last season after toiling in the Leumit League. The big man of course is the son of Israeli league legend Mike Carter and now the son is making a name for himself. Carter had signed his first pro contract with Hapoel Jerusalem in 2018 and played very sparingly for the team before heading to the second division. But now he’s back and better than ever as he spoke about the victory, “It was a good way for us to start the league with a W. We’ve been working hard preparing for the season, for now we want to continue to build and grow as a team every day moving forward. We have a great group of guys and just want to continue the process of getting better each game.”
Finally, Hapoel Holon will host Hapoel Gilboa Galil on Saturday night and Holon coach Stefanos Dedas looked ahead to the game, “This will be our first league home game and the fact that we lost our first game at Rishon and Gilboa are undefeated so far is the biggest motivation for our players. We have put the BCL aside and will be dealing with the Israeli league on Saturday night.”
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