Hapoel Jerusalem downed Hapoel Galil Elyon 94-78 as Jalen Adams scored at will throughout the four quarters as five players notched double-digits in the victory. The two teams went back and forth over the course of the opening half but Yotam Halperin’s team held Barak Peleg’s squad to 31 points over the second half to take the win.

Adams led all scorers with 23 points, Retin Obasohan added 16 points and John Egbunu scored 12 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Isaiah Eisendorf paced the Galilee team with 15 points, Ike Iroegbu added 14 points and Chavaughn Lewis chipped in with 13 points in the loss.

“This was a game of two totally different halves,” Halperin began. “We gave up 47 points in the first half and only 31 in the second which made all of the difference. I’m happy that there were guys that came off the bench who gave the extra energy which is important.”

“To be honest, I felt that we didn’t come together enough at the end despite having a good first half,” Peleg said. “We weren’t aggressive and we didn’t go after Jerusalem’s weak points and I’m disappointed about that. But Jerusalem is a solid and talented, quality team.”

Big man John Egbunu spoke about the win, “We did a good job overall. We didn’t play as good defense as we would have liked in the first half but we came out with the right mentality in the second half and held them to 31 points. We did a great job in the second half.”

KC Rivers and Jalen Adams opened up the scoring at a frantic pace for Hapoel Jerusalem while John Egbunu added points as well to open up a big lead but Ike Iroegbu, Nimrod Levi and Itay Moskovitz closed the gap for Hapoel Galil Elyon as the first quarter ended 33-26 in favor of the hosts. Adams kept scoring while Retin Obasohan added points in the second quarter but Chavaughn Lewis and Isaiah Eisendorf filled the basket for the visitors to keep pace but the Reds headed into halftime ahead 53-47.

Willy Workman found points inside while Adams bumped up his game total as Yotam Halperin’s squad began to pull away was they ended the third quarter ahead 79-64. Adams continued to find the hoop in earnest throughout the final frame as Jerusalem cruised to the 16-point win.

Hapoel Tel Aviv got by Hapoel Beer Sheva 86-79 as Paul Stoll scored from beyond the arc late in the game to take the win. The Southern Reds welcomed newcomer Antonio Blakeney to the squad as the LSU Tigers product’s superb Israeli league debut helped Beer Sheva stay competitive late in the game cutting the lead down to 80-77 with under a minute to go. However, Stoll came back with his fourth triple of the game to close out the victory and keep the team in one of the final two playoff spots with four games to go in the regular season.

James Young scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Bar Timor added 14 points and Paul Stoll scored 12 points in the win. Blakeney led all scorers with 29 points, 7 boards and 4 assists, while Travis Warech and Amir Bell each scored 12 points in the loss.

Hapoel Gilboa Galil defeated Hapoel Eilat 91-81 as Tyus Battle paced the Galilee squad to keep their playoff hopes alive and well. Guy Kaplan’s team jumped out 48-40 lead at halftime and never looked back as Battle, London Perrantes, Ronnie Harrell sealed the deal over the final twenty minutes to keep the heat on Nes Ziona and Hapoel Tel Aviv in the race for one of the final two playoff slots.

Battle led the way with 29 points, Perrantes added 20 points while Harrell recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in the win. Toney Douglas scored 19 points, Joaquin Szuchman added 15 points and Justin Patton chipped in with 12 points in the defeat.

“It was a good win for us since every game is important as we push for a playoff spot,” game MVP Tyus Battle said. “I thought we played well on both ends of the floor and there is still a lot to build on from this game.”