Hapoel Jerusalem defeated Hapoel Tel Aviv 105-91 as Jared Harper and the capital city reds with five players scoring in double digits once again came out on top of the Euroleague newcomers.

Elijah Bryant and Yam Madar found the hoop for Hapoel Tel Aviv while Jared Harper and Justin Smith responded for Hapoel Jerusalem but points from Antonio Blakeney kept the visitors in front 24-20 after ten minutes of play. Jonathan Motley and Khadeen Carrington traded baskets in the second quarter, Cassius Winston added points as did Blakeney but Jerusalem grabbed the 43-40 advantage at halftime.

Anthony Lamb had the hot hand with a trio of triples to lead off the third quarter, Bryant and Motley tried to keep Dimitrios Itoudis’s squad close, Yovel Zoosman, Roi Huber and Winston all went from downtown as Blakeney tried to keep Hapoel close but a Carrington 3-pointer to end the third quarter sent the teams into the final frame with Yonatan Alon’s team in front 76-62. Chris Jones and Guy Palatin found points to begin the fourth quarter, Zoosman and Harper answered right back, while Huber and Austin Wiley also scored while more points from Carrington and Harper closed out the victory.

Harper scored 23 points, Winston added 18 points and Carrington scored 17 points in the win while Bryant scored 21 points, Blakeney put in 20 points and Motley scored 19 points in the loss.

Jerusalem Head Coach Yonatan Alon spoke about the victory, “I’m very proud of the guys and it’s an honor to be coaching them. A great athlete like Jared Harper knows how not to make mistakes in pressure moments. Overall our guards were excellent but everyone deserves to be mentioned.”

Tel Aviv bench boss Dimitris Itoudis reflected on the loss, “I feel I need to apologize to our fans and to the owners. This was not a performance, it was a disgrace. Congrats to Jerusalem. We have no right not to come here without playing defense and not hustling. Palatin hustled, this is the kind of approach we need. We did not try it all, and we will in the future.”

The game MVP Jared Harper talked about the win, “I don’t think it about me, it’s about the team. Everyone played great and we’re going through a good stretch. I want to see each other succeed. I don’t like comparing myself to anybody. We can compete with any team in Europe. We are a good team. I understand Hapoel Tel Aviv go through a tough time right now as a team, but nobody feels sorry for them and nobody will feel sorry for us.“

Up at Gan Ner, Hapoel HaEmek downed Maccabi Ramat Gan 94-83 as the hosts took a 55-36 lead at halftime no never looked back as Sharon Avrahami’s squad notched the win. Kyler Edwards scored 21 points, Lucas Goldenberg added 15 points and Elijah Childs put in 13 points while Ronaldo Segu scored 19 points as Drew Crawford and Deion Atkins each scored 15 points in the defeat.

Hapoel Beer Sheva slipped by Kiryat Ata 86-84 as Brandon Angel and Damien Dunn spurred a late game comeback to notch the win. Angel scored 27 points, Dunn added 16 points and Yoav Vitlem scored 15 points in the victory while Jemaya Neal scored 18 points, Noah Locke put in 16 points and Bodie Hume scored 15 points in the loss.