Hapoel Jerusalem defeated Hapoel Tel Aviv 98-87 as Jared Harper starred for the capital city reds and forced a decisive game three back in Tel Aviv next Tuesday. Both teams went back and forth to begin the game as Jared Harper found points for the hosts and Bar Timor countered for the visitors, Austin Wiley started to make an impact as Tomer Ginat also scored but Harper with points a plenty and a pair of quick baskets by Khadeen Carrington and Jeremy Morgan to end the half made sure to keep the Jerusalem ahead 49-35.

Harper and Justin Smith continued to pour it on while Marcus Foster and Ginat cut the lead down to just 4-points but Harper drilled home a triple and was fouled on the play while Carrington and Wiley continued to score at will to close out the victory. Harper scored 31 points, Carrington added 16 points and Wiley put in 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the win. Ginat scored 19 points, Foster put in 18 points and Motiey scored 14 points in the loss.

“We were leading by double digits but the gap can be cut very easily as we saw,” Hapoel Jerusalem Head Coach Yonatan Alon said. “They went to a small lineup and Marcus Foster made some big baskets. We were a bit tired and they hit some 3-pointers with hands in their faces as well. But we worked hard to get that lead and we were able to hold on to it.”

“Jerusalem was the better team,” Hapoel Tel Aviv Head Coach Dimitrios Itoudis said. “We won three quarters but the second quarter was a disaster with bad shots and we gave up 29 points, they were better and we are looking ahead for game three. We didn’t defend well and we will do a better job.”

Chris Johnson looked back at the win, “We were down 0-1 and we had to come out and fight. We had to play tough defense and the fans were the 6th man. Personally, I’ve been bringing intensity and leadership and doing the small things to help the team win, those things add up. Game three is going to be an intense game and we had a chance to win there but we will learn from our mistakes and do the best we can.”

Tomer Ginat spoke about the loss from his point of view, “It was a good game from us. Coach said that we won 3 of 4 quarters but it didn’t feel this way. The second quarter was bad and we knew they would come aggressive after game one, but they got control of the game and we tried to come back and we came up short. The ball is on our side now and we will have our fans for game three. We will analyze this game and be prepared.”

Bar Timor stole the ball and went in for an easy layup to open the game up for Hapoel Tel Aviv, Austin Wiley responded for Hapoel Jerusalem in the paint, Johnathan Motley fed Ish Wainright for an easy basket, Nimrod Levi hit a long deuce and Jared Harper went in for a pair of layups as the visitors grabbed a 12-8 lead midway through the first quarter.

Jeremy Morgan scored on the inside while Khadeen Carrington scored from the outside, Timor and Motley each added a bucket, Wiley came back with points but Marcus Bingham put in a 3-point play to keep Dimitrios Itoudis’s squad ahead 21-20 after ten minutes of play.

Wiley scored to begin the second quarter, Harper dropped a 3-point play, Justin Smith dunked, Guy Palatin stripped Harper of the ball and scored and easy deuce, Oz Blayzer put in his own rebound, Palatin nailed a corner 3-ball, Smith and Tomer Ginat traded baskets as the visitors stayed in front 30-29 with 5:32 left in the first half. Chris Johnson scored, Ginat did the same at the other end, Harper scored a pair of baskets, Wiley four points inside, Johnson dropped a bucket over Motley as Carrington and Morgan scored to end the half and give Jerusalem a 49-35 advantage.

Ginat and Antonio Blakeney scored to get the third quarter underway, Johnson came back from deep, Timor and Harper traded baskets, Smith put in a pair of buckets, Morgan went from deep, Motley and Ginat scored, Roi Huber and Harper went from long distance, Foster and Wainright did the same but Yonatan Alon’s team kept the lead 71-58 after thirty minutes of action.

Foster went from beyond the arc to start the fourth quarter, Ginat and Foster put in deuces, so did Huber and Carrington, Foster went from the outside and inside and Blakeney nailed a corner 3-ball to cut the lead down to 77-73 with 5:24 remaining in regulation time. Harper drained a 4-point play, Ginat went from deep, but Harper and Carrington hit their free throws, while Wiley scored as well to send the series back to Tel Aviv.