Hapoel Jerusalem defeated Hapoel Beer Sheva 84-74 to win their 9th game in a row across all competitions ahead of their critical Basketball Champions League contest at JDA Dijon. The Reds saw Khadeen Carrington score early on while Zach Hankins picked up the baton to help Jerusalem as Levi Randolph, TJ Cline and Brandon Brown countered Khalil Ahmad and Greg Whittington to notch the win.

Khadeen Carrington carried the scoring for Hapoel Jerusalem in the first quarter while Ben Moore answered for Hapoel Beer Sheva and Cody Demps hit a corner 3-ball as the period ended to even the score up at 18-18 after ten minutes of play. Zach Hankins began to find points in the paint for Aleksandar Dzikic’s team while Khalil Ahmad did as well for Lior Lubin’s squad but the hosts grabbed a 42-39 lead at halftime.

TJ Cline got busy for the capital city reds in the third quarter while Carrington drained a pair from deep, but Greg Whittington and Tomer countered, however, Oz Blayzer and Noam Yaacov scored as time wound down to keep Jerusalem in front 62-54 after thirty minutes of action. Jerusalem kept their scoring pace up with baskets by Itay Segev, Brandon Brown and Siim Sander-Vene to wrap up the double digit victory.

Hankins scored 18 points, Carrington added 15 points while Brown, Cline and Randolph all scored 9 points in the win. Ahmad with 19 points along with Whittington, Ben Moore and Neta Segal scored 10 points in the loss.

“There were absolute priorities for this game and one of them was no injuries,” Aleksandar Dzikic explained. “We tried to help out the guys who would be playing next game in the BCL and are sure that they would be ready. This was not a super nice game, but Ws are important and we had a chance to give some players minutes.”

“This was a very tough and intense game,” Lior Lubin said. “This was a very challenging game for us and we were there for most of it. We began the game and we just tired out but didn’t give up and there were some positive things to take as we continue on.”

Khadeen Carrington looked back at the win, “We knew it was going to be a tough game and it was a tough matchup for us. We tried to stay in the game and do what we needed to do to take the win. It may not have been the prettiest but we persevered after they kept cutting down the lead. These games are important and Tuesday’s BCL matchup is big game and we will come out strong.”

Hapoel Holon cruised to a 88-73 win over Kiryat Ata to get back onto the winning track after a tough Champions League loss to Hapoel Jerusalem earlier in the week that ended their continental campaign. Joe Ragland and Hayden Dalton got off to strong starts and set the tone early for Guy Goodes’s squad while CJ Harris and Javan Delaurier scored in the second half to close out the victory.

Amin Stevens and Diante Garrett came ready to play for Kiryat Ata with points a plenty to open up the game, but an active Hayden Dalton and Joe Ragland helped Hapoel Holon to a 22-20 lead after ten minutes. Ragland and Dalton kept up their scoring pace while Javan Delaurier added points in the paint for Guy Goodes’s squad while Chavaughn Lewis and Stevens kept Sharon Avrahami’s team hanging around but down 41-33 at halftime.

Ragland, Shawn Dawson and CJ Harris began the second half with points for the hosts as Stevens and Karam Mashour tried to keep the visitors close but Delaurier bumped up the advantage to 68-52 after thirty minutes of play. Lewis got hot to begin the final frame to eat into the Holon lead, but Niv Misgav from the line and points by Harris wrapped up the victory.

Dalton led the way with 22 points and 8 rebounds, Ragland added 17 points and 9 assists, Harris put in 17 points while Delaurier checked in with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds for Holon. Stevens paced Kiryat Ata with 21 points and Lewis added 19 points in the loss.

“This was an important win for us in league play as we are getting close to the third round,” Goodes said following the game. “We had a tough and disappointing game against Jerusalem which eliminated us from European competition so it was good to come back with a win.”

CJ Harris reflected on the victory, “We were disappointed as to how the game went against Jerusalem but it’s our job to put it behind us and that’s what we were doing in this game as we took the win.”

Hapoel Tel Aviv just got by a tough Hapoel Galil Elyon squad 89-84 as the Galilee team gave the Reds everything they could handle up in the Galilee. The hosts grabbed an early lead via Bryce Washington and Roi Huber, but Danny Franco’s side came storming back as Adam Ariel was hot from the outside while Jaylen Hoard also scored to give the visitors a 48-34 lead at halftime. However, Deishuan Booker started to cut into the Tel Aviv lead over the course of the second half but Bar Timor and Xavier Munford came up big to close out the road win.

Timor led the way with 18 points, Hoard added 15 points and Munford scored 14 points in the victory. Booker paced Galil with 29 points, Washington chipped in with 21 points and Huber scored 14 points in the loss.

“We were tired and injured but we came up north to this game with our incredible fans who helped us win this tough game against an excellent team,” Tel Aviv coach Danny Franco said. “We have a great team with character and it is just natural for a team to have ups and downs throughout a season. I am happy we came in with maximum commitment to this game.”

Adam Ariel also spoke about the win, “We knew that this would be a tough game after we had had a rough week with two losses. We didn’t open the game well enough and with focus, but we came back with better basketball and I am happy that we came out of here with the win.”