Hapoel Jerusalem’s 69-64 win over Ulm of Germany helped the Reds to a second place finish in Group D of EuroCup play. Jerome Dyson’s five points late in the game we’re key in the victory giving Jerusalem a 5-3 record and a date with Nizhny Novgorod, Zenit and Vilma in the next round of European action.

Amare Stoudemire was a one man wrecking crew in the first quarter scoring 13 of his 16 points as Jerusalen used his inside prowess to dictate the pace of the game early in taking a 19-14 lead after ten minutes. Ulm went on a 9-2 run in the second quarter to tie up the game but a 17-3 advantage for ove rthe final five minutes of the half gave The Reds a 38-26 lead at the break.

However, Ulm came charging back to pull within four points at 46-42, but the hosts ended the third frame with a 53-46 lead thanks to Curtis Jerrells’s 10 points. With the visitors breathing hard down Jerusalem’s necks they would go on an 11-2 run giving them a 57-55 lead in the final quarter. With shockwaves going through the Jerusalem Arena, Jerome Dyson who was playing injured, dropped 9-points to help will his capital city side to the five point victory 69-64.

Simone Pianigiani:
“I want to start with the big picture; tonight we finished the [regular season] in second place. Our group was a tough group with teams like Valencia, which is a EuroLeague team and they showed in the Spanish League that they have more points than Baskonia and they fight with the top teams; we have Lokomotiv, a team that was in the [EuroLeague] Final Four. Mentality. Budget. Everything. And Ulm plays with the same system, like Valencia, as last season and is dominating the German League. They beat Bamberg by 15 points and we saw in Israel what kind of team Bamberg is one week ago when they beat Maccabi. So you cannot be so good, because how Bamberg lost seven games from one basket in EuroLeague. This means that you cannot dominate these games. And we overcame this with so many problems, because we the injuries to the players were so many. ”

Tsmoki Minsk 89-76 Bnei Herzliya

Jeff Adrien’s 25 points were not enough to secure an away victory for Bnei Herzilya in Minsk. Tsmoki Minsk’s Nemanja Milosevic had 23 points, while the team shot 47%. Bnei Herzliyas’ Stephen Dennis had 19 points, while the team shot 41% from the field. Bnei Herzliya continue their Europe Cup campaign, at home next week against Nanterre.

Ironi Nahariya 83-86 Nymburk

Ironi Nahariya lost at home to Nymburk 86-83. Yancy Gates had 13 points, while Nick Faust finished with 11 for the losing Nahariya. Howard Sant Roos had 15 points, while the team shot 51%. Ironi Nahriya will look to move on from the loss stolen right under their noses, by traveling to Aris for Game day 10.

CSM CSU Oradea 69-64 Rishon Le’Zion

Rishon Le’Zion put in a strong away performance at Oradea, ultimately to lose 69-64. Javon McCrea had 19 points, while Patrick Richard had 12 points for the losing Rishon. Martin Zeno dropped 18 points, while Sean Denison had 11 for the home side. Rishon will look to bounce back at home against Pinar Karsiyaka.