Hapoel Tel Aviv downed Hapoel HaEmek 76-68 as Yam Madar made his return to the court for the first time since this summer’s Eurobasket. It took only a few minutes for Madar to shake off the rust as he came back from injury to put in an MVP performance and lead the reds to the tough victory.

Elijah Childs scored for Hapoel HaEmek while Colin Malcom, Bar Timor along with Tomer Ginat on the inside and Yam Madar from the outside gave Hapoel Tel Aviv a 21-11 lead after ten minutes of play. Antonio Blakeney and Lucas Goldenberg traded triples to begin the second quarter, Kadin Shedrick and Kyler Edwards found points, Malcolm went from deep, Cameron Henry put in a 3-point play and Gil Noyovitch went from downtown but a deuce form Madar gave the reds a 37-31 advantage at halftime.

Shedrick put down a big time dunk to start off the third quarter, Malcolm and Oturu responded, Edwards kept Sharon Avrahami’s team close, Ish Wainright dunked, Madar went from beyond the arc and Blakeney scored to stay in front 55-48 after thirty minutes of action. Madar began the fourth quarter with a layup, Adam Smith drained a 3-pointer, Ginat scored in the paint, Edwards and Shedrick scored to keep HaEmek hanging around, but Blakeney hit a midrange jumper and Wainright went from deep to close out the win.

Madar led the way with 14 points, Malcolm added 13 points and Blakeney put in 12 points in the victory while Edwards scored 17 points, Shedrick chipped in with 11 points and Goldenberg scored 10 points in the loss.

Dimitrios Itoudis commented on the win, “We had half day and half a practice to prepare this game. They came in with a number of wins in a row and they had a week to prepare for the game. We missed a number of free throws and our shots as well, but we showed compassion and defensively we were focused to make stops.”

Sharon Avrahami spoke about the defeat, “It’s disappointing that we lost and we were there near the end of the game only a few points away but we just couldn’t find a way to score down the stretch. I’m proud that we did a very good job and we battled without two of our main Israeli players. We will continue to work hard and do our talking on the court and not off of it.”

Colin Malcolm spoke about the victory, “Tough game for forty minus and we expected that as they have been playing well. I knew it was going to be a challenge as they are versatile. They can go big and small and they showed a lot of different looks and went to zone defense as well. We found a way and trusted coach Itoudis’s game plan.”

Gil Noyovitch reflected on the loss and his won development, “We were there and we showed character. We made some mistakes and we paid the price for that which we will at these levels. I’m trying to keep improving as I do game in and game out whether I am playing or if I’m on the bench as well as through practice.”

Bnei Herzliya downed Maccabi Raanana 107-96 as Elijah Stewart and Max Heidegger who combined for 55 points ruined Joe Ragland’s return to Israel. After a close first half that saw Herzliya head into halftime in front by a single point 50-49, the Stewart and Heidegger duo proved to be unstoppable in the third quarter to open up a 81-65 lead and never look back to take the win. Stewart scored 30 points, Heidegger added 25 points while Chinanu Onuaku and Noah Carter each scored 12 points in the victory while Yotam Hanochi scored 20 points, Daylen Kountz put in 18 points in his debut while Ragland scored 18 points and dished out 12 assists in the loss.