Hapoel Holon downed Bnei Herzliya 84-71 as Mike Davis Jr. scored at will to help the Purples to their first win over Herzliya since the 2022 championship season.
Mike Davis Jr. – Photo credit: Yehuda Halickman
Mike Davis Jr. was on fire early on while Elijah Mitrou-Long added points for Hapoel Holon as Xavier Sneed and Ethan Burg countered for Herzliya but the Purples took a 52-43 advantage into halftime. Netanel Artzi found points for the hosts in the second half while Josh Hawley did as well, John Meeks tried to cut the gap but Davis and Mitrou-Long closed out the win.
Elijah Mitrou-Long – Photo credit: Yehuda Halickman
Davis scored 28 points, Mitrou-Long added 16 points and Artzi scored 13 points in the win. Sneed scored 22 points, Meeks chipped in with 14 points and Hawley scored 12 points in the loss.
Guy Kaplan – Photo credit: Yehuda Halickman
“Without Chris Silva playing for Herzliya, the game as very different,” Holon head coach Guy Kaplan said. “We were able to hit our shots from beyond the arc and we had to keep them at bay. We held them to a lower point total which is what we did in this game as they only scored 71 points and that’s what made the difference.”
Yehu Orland – Photo credit: Yehuda Halickman
“It’s obviously no fun to talk about a loss,” Herzliya bench boss Yehu Orland began. We came in trying to stop Holon from shooting the 3-pointer but we couldn’t execute that and it allowed them to break away. We tried to work hard throughout the game and we were able to come back. We all came in to play hard in this game but the guys were thinking about the upcoming Cup game.”
Mike Davis Jr. – Photo credit: Yehuda Halickman
Mike Davis Jr. spoke about his terrific shooting game and of Holon can compete for the league title, “After the third or fourth shot that were contested and I just flicked it and it may be one of this nights. It’s always good to stop a losing streak against a specific team and if we play defense well that will always give us a chance in every game. Playing hard and get the loose balls We have enough offensive power to play with any team in the league but it starts with defense for us.”
Josh Hawley looked back at the loss, “It was the 50/50 balls really. We had to fight harder for those and the rebounds were critical as well. As for the Cup, we have to lock in and just try super hard and execute the game plan.”
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