Hapoel Holon dropped Strasbourg 93-75 to take the first game of their best of 3 quarterfinal series for a ticket to the Basketball Champions League Final Four which will be held in Bilbao, Spain.

Chris Johnson who was coming off of a neck injury set the tone early with a pair of 3-pointers while Adam Smith also scored at will, but former Maccabi Tel Aviv swingman Kameron Taylor got busy as well to keep the game within reach as Guy Goodes’s held a 46-39 lead at halftime. However, Holon ran off a 10-0 run in the third quarter as they quickly bumped up the advantage to twenty points with the help of Joe Ragland, Michale Kyser and Rafi Menco as the hosts took the win.

Game two will take place in France next Wednesday as Holon will look to wrap up the short series with a sweep and become the first Israeli team to play in the competition’s Final Four.

Johnson who was among the six Holon players to score in double digits led the way with 18 points and 9 rebounds, Kyser added 15 points and 7 boards, Ragland recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 assists and Menco scored 12 points. Matt Mitchell paced Strasbourg with 18 points, Taylor added 16 points and Jordan Howard chipped in with 14 points in the loss.

“I’m happy as to how we approached the game,” Goodes began. “I really enjoyed how the guys fought and battled for the 40 minutes and how our crowd gave us energy as they pushed the team one step forward. We won all four quarters and we really focused on the details that we looked at in preparation.”

“It was an impressive performance from Holon and they deserved to win the game because they led for so long,” Strasbourg coach Lassi Tuovi said. “They were humble and they were very strong and we were not at the level to win this game. We have another game in six days we have to be ready for that.”

Game MVP Joe Ragland reflected on the the game one victory, “It was a hard fought game and in the first game we wanted to make a statement. Coach prepared us well physically and mentally. We got the first game but the series isn’t over.”

Gaylor Curler also spoke about the game that was, “We got smacked. Basically we were not ready for this type of intensity and we weren’t ready for this physical challenge. We are known to play physical and we were not there yet but now we know what to do in the next game.”

Chris Johnson had the hot hand early for Hapoel Holon as he drilled home a pair of comer 3-balls to help his squad take a quick 9-2 lead midway through the first quarter. Rafi Menco nailed a 3-pointer and Michale Kyser dunked but Yannis Morin and Kameron Taylor came right back with points for Strasbourg, Matt Mitchell and Adam Smith traded triples while the latter added a 4-point play soon thereafter but DeAndre Lansdowne stole the ball to score a layup as the period ended with the hosts leading 25-19 after ten minutes of play.

Guy Pnini cut into the lane for a bucket and then added a 3-pointer while Kyser put in points, Joe Ragland and Taylor each scored for their respective teams while Tyrus McGee scored his first points of the game to give Guy Goodes’s team a 39-27 lead with five minutes remaining in the first half. Taylor scored in the paint, McGee and Menco came back with points as Taylor answered again with a pair of baskets but Holon held a 46-39 advantage at halftime.

Kyser started off the third quarter by putting down an alley-oop, Mitchell came back with a 3-pointer and deuce while Morin scored as well to cut the Holon lead to 50-46 midway through the period. Mitchell dropped a 3-point play, Johnson dunked, Menco went from the outside, while Kyser put back an offensive board, Ragland stripped the ball to go in for an uncontested layup for a 10-0 run and McGee hit an off balance jumper to give Goodes’s squad a 66-54 lead after thirty minutes of action.

Bourdillon scored his first points of the game with a 3-pointer to begin the fourth quarter, Pnini went from deep as well, Ragland and Bourdillon also found the bottom of the bucket to give Holon a 20-point. 78-58 lead with 6:09 left in regulation time. Johnson and Jordan Howard traded baskets, Kyser put down a mega-dunk as the shot clock expired, Ragland, Johnson and McGee all added layups as the hosts cruised to the 18-point win.