Maccabi Ramat Gan cruised past Nes Ziona 108-84 as the hosts scored early and often to take the victory. Shmulik Brenner’s team came out of the gates on fire as Isaiah Miles, Kendale McCullum and Amin Stevens scored at will throughout the 40 minutes notch the victory. Prior to the game the club honored singer, songwriter and composer Uzi Hitman on the 20th anniversary of his passing as his wife and son attended the game while his songs played in the background throughout the matchup.

Miles scored 20 points, Stevens chipped in 19 points ad McCullum added 17 points and 8 assists in the win. Bryce Brown scored 20 points and Itay Segev added 15 points in the loss.

“We have been talking about being in control and having composure,” Ramat Gan Head Coach Shmulik Brenner said. “The team really battled and we showed energy and aggressiveness. The key was being consistent and making sure that we are all coming to play everyday. Our goal is always to look at the next game but we are happy with our roster as we are seeing other players like Yahel Melamed and Benayahu Srur contributing. But we have to stay healthy and if we are then we really have a great team.”

“We didn’t defend from the first to last possession,” Nes Ziona Head Coach Amit Sherf began. “Even with a short roster we have to look at ourselves as to why this happened. We can’t defend like this and we have to find ways to be able to pick up the slack. We had chances to beat both the other two teams we played in Hapoel Jerusalem and Maccabi Tel Aviv and now we have to look at Friday’s contest against Gilboa.”

The game MVP Isaiah Miles looked back at the win, “It was a great team win and Nes Ziona are a hard team as they play nonstop. We played amazing on the defensive ends and we gave up some easy ones to begin but defense won the game. We shared the ball really well and we had a lot of points off of turnovers. We ran in transition and kept our foot on the gas. We had something to prove and we showed we can run with the best of them, when the shots are falling. I love Israel and I enjoy playing for this team. Coming off of last year we want more after the playoffs and we want to show Europe we are a good team as we want to get to the next step.”

Bryce Brown reflected on the defeat, “This was a rough loss for us and from the tip-off we were too soft in every area of the game. With Ricky Lindo out we have to bring what he would usually contribute to the game by being physical with a lot of effort and heart. We can learn from this and look in the mirror to get better for Friday. It’s early in the season and we have to focus on our team as a couple of wins can change the momentum of the season.

Tzuf Ben Moshe had the hot hand for Nes Ziona out of the gate, but Maccabi Ramat Gan’s Isaiah Miles matched the sniper with a pair of triples while Kendale McCullum and Roberto Gallinat also found the bottom of the basket to give the hosts a 30-21 lead after ten minutes of play. Amin Stevens began scoring as did Benayahu Srur on the inside, Yair Kravits countered from the outside while Bryce Brown began to score points a plenty but Stevens kept Shmulik Brenner’s team in front 53-46 at halftime.

Stevens and McCullum kept scoring, Gallinat added a 3-point play, Miles put in a 3-pointer and Roi Huber scored as well, Brown tried to keep Amit Sherf’s team close with points from the inside and outside but Ramat Gan bumped their lead up to 78-66 after thirty minutes of action. McCullum scored with ease, Tomer Levinson countered from deep, but Stevens and Gallinat put in yet more points, Miles added a dunkaroo and Dori Sahar joined the party from deep to help the hosts to the win.

Hapoel Beer Sheva got by Hapoel Afula 78-73 as a strong second quarter by the hosts gave the southern reds a 40-33 lead at halftime and sent Oren Aharoni’s team to the victory. Iverson Molinar scored 21 points and Paul Scruggs added 15 points in the win while Justyn Mutts scored 20 points in the loss.