Hapoel Jerusalem dropped Hapoel Holon 75-66 as the Reds took the win ahead of their decisive third game against AEK in the Basketball Champions League. Speedy Smith’s play throughout the forty minutes paced Aleksandar Dzikic’s team to the victory after having to comeback from a fourth quarter deficit while Or Cornelius also hit some big shots to wrap up the win.

Speedy Smith, Levi Randolph and TJ Cline all found easy points early on for Hapoel Jerusalem but Joe Ragland from deep, along with Manny Harris and Hayden Dalton scored for Hapoel Holon to cut the lead down to 23-20 by the end of the first quarter. Smith and Mareks Mejeris kept the Reds in front at the start of the second quarter but Ragland, Marvin Jones and a triple by Shawn Dawson knotted the score up at 35-35 at halftime.

Zach Hankins, Or Cornelius and Levi Randolph came out like a house on fire to begin the third quarter to take a 10-point lead, but Niv Misgav, Jones, Ragland and Harris all scored to give Holon a slim 56-54 advantage after thirty minutes of action. Cornelius and Smith went from deep to quickly retake the lead as Hankins and Khadeen Carrington hit their free throws to wrap up the win.

Smith led the way with 18 points, Cornelius added 12 points and Randolph chipped in with 11 points in the victory. Joe Ragland led all scorers with 20 points and Marvin Jones scored 11 points in the loss.

“This game what was what we were expecting and we know who we were playing,” Hapoel Jerusalem coach Aleksandar Dzikic began. “A team with a shorter rotation, experienced guys, and they are tough to beat. It’s disrespectful to not give them enough respect and they are a tough team for every opponent. It was important to play the way we believe is the right way to play. I’m not satisfied with the way we played and if we play like this it will be a long, long night Wednesday. We gave to do things better on both ends.”

“There were some good minutes but we make mistakes and we didn’t start well,” Holon coach Guy Goodes said. “It’s a mental issue with the players and it occurred again and we ended up with the same result. There were also some minutes where we weren’t good on both sides of the ball and we gave up some important 3-pointers to Or Cornelius.”

Speedy Smith looked back at the win, “Shaky game but we put some stops together in the fourth quarter, Zach Hankins came alive and he started the run, Noam Yaacov also was good and I liked his energy. We won and the 40 minutes are done, now I want to see everyone in Israel on Wednesday and it will be a special night. It will be a war on Wednesday and I want the fans to be loud.”

Frederic Bourdillon also reflected on the game, “I knew it would be difficult as I only had a few practices with the team, but I felt really good. Jerusalem is better than us and I won’t forget one player who was speaking garbage. I wish them luck on Wednesday against AEK but we are still the champions right now and we will see what they will do in the playoffs.”

Hapoel Galil Elyon downed Nes Ziona 94-85 thanks to six players sporting double digits to take the win. Barak Peleg’s team came out strong as Nimrod Levi and Devyn Marble paced the hosts to a 50-39 lead at halftime, but DJ Cooper and Tyler Bey made their mark for Elad Hasin’s team in the third quarter to cut the lead down to just 3-points, 68-65 after thirty minutes of play. However, Lotan Amsalem, Itay Moskovits along with Deishuan Booker who was a constant all game turned up the offense in the final frame as the hosts took the win.

“I’m happy as to how we battled and when things come together on the court,” Galil coach Barak Peleg said. “I saw it against Hapoel Tel Aviv and hope to see this the rest of the way. For a young player like Lotan, it’s not always fun to have tough times but he has been working hard and that will help him as he continues on.”

“It was a physical game but I have to really compliment Lotan Amasalem for a terrific match,” Nes Ziona bench boss Elad Hasin began. “They were the better team for the majority of the game. We had an issue staying focused and with our communication. When you have a physical game and there are too many whistles it makes things that much more difficult.”

Amsalem led the way with 19 points, Booker added 17 points, while Levi and Moskovits each had 13 points in the victory. Bey with 23 points and Cooper with 18 points paced the visitors in the loss.

Bnei Herzliya took a 86-75 win over Hapoel Beer Sheva in the southern capital to solidly their place in the playoffs. Hooker led all scorers with 23 points, Babb added 21 points and Kemp chipped in with 18 points in the win. Whittington, Efiyani and Koulechov all scored 14 points in the loss.