Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Hapoel Jerusalem 91-78 at Yad Eliyahu to take the Israeli Classico as the yellow-and-blue led wire to wire throughout the contest. Coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos’s squad shot an incredible 82% from two and dominated the battle of the bigs as Maccabi’s forwards outscored Hapoel’s 22-0 in the first half while DeAndre Kane neutralized Jerusalem’s James Feldeine holding the guard to only 10 points. Captain John Dibartolomeo scored 22 points to go with 7 rebounds top spearhead the Maccabi attack, Scottie Wilbekin dropped 20 points, while Tarik Black added 13 points in the win. Tamir Blatt was the high scorer for Jerusalem with 15 points as J’Covan Brown added 12 points and DaSean Butler and Alex Chubrevich each chipped in with 11 points in the loss.

Nes Ziona won their second league game in a row since the international break, downing Hapoel Holon 88-78 thanks to Tal Dunne’s 20 points, 8 boards and 6 assists to go along with Gary Browne’s 19 points, 7 rebounds and 7 helpers as each flirted with a triple-double. Nadav Zilberstein’s Nes Ziona won the battle in the paint 54-36 as Khaliff Wyatt struggled to find his shot from the outside while Darion Atkins was the lone bright spot for Holon clocking in with a 25 point and 10 rebound double-double performance. Daequan Cook who is usually efficient from beyond the arc went only 3/15 from three, but Dunne and Browne picked up the slack in the win.

Nahariya dominated Hapoel Tel Aviv 90-76 as Arik Alfasi made his return behind the Nahariya bench replacing Micky Gorka and picked up the road win. Nahariya led throughout the contest and quelled every threat by Danny Franco’s Tel Aviv squad to mount a comeback. Myke Henry and Terry Allen each dropped 22 points while point guard Yiftach Ziv played the perfect floor general and added 15 points. Nana Foulland came off the bench to score 16 points and grab 9 rebounds for an efficiency rating of 29 in the win. Hapoel’s starters tried their best to stay competitive but without Richard Howell who was nursing a minor knee issue the Reds had trouble keeping pace. Jamal Shuler scored 17 points as Tomer Ginat and Jerel McNeal each chipped in with 16 points for Hapoel in the loss.

Hapoel Eilat won their 7th game in a row downing Hapoel Gilboa/Galil 88-70 on the road at Gan Ner. The Reds Sea squad topped almost every statistical category as Elijah Bryant’s 28 points and 9 rebounds led the way for the visitor’s in the one-sided affair. JP Tokoto provided the highlight of the night with a first quarter 360 degree dunk as Sharon Drucker’s Eilat took home the 18 point win. Idan Zalmanson added 16 points in the win, while James Kelly scored 17 points and Bryant Crawford chipped in with 14 points in the loss that saw Gilboa/Galil shoot a miserable 3/25 from beyond the arc.

Hapoel Beer Sheva defeated Maccabi Ashdod 87-70 winning for the first time in four games at home. The southern side came into the contest without two of their starters in Semaj Christon and Travis Warech but that didn’t bother Rami Hadar’s squad as Jordan Swing went 6/8 from 3-point land in a 22 point night and Taylor Braun added 21 points draining 3 triples of his own in the victory. Mark Tollefsen scored 23 points, Landon Milbourne added 19 points and Jojo Fallas had his career high with 11 points going 3/4 from deep in the defeat.

Bnei Herzliya dropped Maccabi Rishon Le’Zion 74-67 at home in a tight game that saw Gabe Levin score 9 points in 4th quarter money time to help the host’s to the victory. Michael Dixon scored 17 points, Levin added 15 points and Jeff Adrien recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds for Herzliya.