Hapoel Jerusalem downed Maccabi Tel Aviv 79-69 as Jared Harper starred once again to advance to the Winner Cup final. The Reds opened up the game with Harper going from deep and never looked back as Justin Smith along with Khadeen Carrington out-dueled Lonnie Walker and Jimmy Clark as Hapoel held out a fourth quarter run to take the victory.

Harper scored 22 points and Carrington added 16 points in the win while Clark scored 16 points and Walker chipped in with 12 points in the loss.

Harper was unstoppable from deep to begin the game as he drained a trio of triples for Hapoel Jerusalem, Lonnie Walker scored from the inside and outside for Maccabi Tel Aviv, Roi Huber hit a pair from deep, Josiah Jordan James and Tamir Blatt traded points from beyond the arc as the reds grabbed a 23-19 lead after ten minutes of play.

Nimrod Levi knocked down a corner 3-ball to begin the second quarter, Justin Smith scored a pair of buckets, Yovel Zoosman went from deep, James put down a monster dunk, Roman Sorkin and Walker countered but James again drilled home a 3-pointer to give Yonatan Alon’s team a 41-31 halftime advantage.

Khadeen Carrington and Smith got the third quarter underway with more points for Hapoel Jerusalem, Anthony Lamb went from downtown, Jimmy Clark began to score to close the gap but the reds kept the double digit lead 59-48 after thirty minutes of action.

Gur Lavy and Clark scored quick baskets to begin the final frame to cut the lead as Clark kept finding the basket from the inside and outside, Rayman drained a corner 3-ball but then fouled out as Harper went from deep and Carrington hit a midrange following some sideline fireworks that saw Alon get a technical as Hapoel held a 64-61 lead midway through the period. Harper took the ball to the hoop for a tough layup, Blatt went from beyond the arc while Carrington did the same for a pair to close out the game.

Yonatan Alon talked about the win, “You can see that the small things are working well becauee the guys for the most part have been playing together for some time. The biggest part of our success was to sign the core of our team in the middle of last season which set us up for this year. We have a lot of goals to reach this season.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv Head Coach Oded Katash said, “It’s not fun to lose two games in a wheel and credit to Jerusalem who are very organized and know what they want to do because of the continuity. Our play wasn’t great but we were able to come back and we were in the game which is character that is important for us. The guys aren’t at fault and they are working hard but it takes time to come together and jell as a unit. We need to keep our heads high and it may not always look good but we are also in the process of building a new team.”

Khadeen Carrington spoke about the victory, “It didn’t mean anything but it’s us setting the base for the Eurocuo and Israeli league, I think we set a good base and shows how good we could be but now the real work starts. I think we have a nice solid team and once we add the guys back who are injured we will be even better. We will continue to get better as the season goes on.”

Jimmy Clark reflected on the game, “It’s still preseason and everything is not coming together all at once and we need those moments before the season starts. Once we build more chemistry and know how each other play that will help us on the court.”