Kiryat Ata shocked Hapoel Jerusalem 76-74 as Raz Adam and newcomer Isaiah Mucius mounted a comeback with huge buckets down the stretch to snatch the victory from the jaws of defeat. Adam and Batemon each scored 15 points while Mucius and and Amin Stevens scored 14 points a piece in the win. Brynton Lemar scored 15 points and Or Cornelius chipped in with 14 points in the loss.

Or Cornelius got busy for Hapoel Jerusalem while Akia Pruitt scored for Kirayt Ata as the capital city reds grabbed a 23-17 lead after ten minutes of play, but Raz Adam and James Batemon helped turn the tables on the visitors to take a 36-34 advantage into halftime.

Batemon continued to score for the hosts but Gaby Chachashvili and Chris Johnson helped Jerusalem go out in front 55-49 after thirty minutes of play, but Isaiah Mucius and Adam rallied Kiryat Ata to stun the State Cup holders and take the win.

“I believed we lost our concentration many times and lost in some small details and we allowed them to comeback,” Jerusalem coach Ilias Kantzouris said. “When the game is on the line anything anything can happen and we didn’t do the right things. I have to say congrats to Kiryat Ata and move on.”

Hapoel Tel Aviv crushed Hapoel Haifa 103-84 as the Reds stayed atop the league standings with the victory. Jaylen Hoard was dominant for Danny Franco’s squad as five Hapoel players finished the game in double digits.

Hoard scored to his heart’s delight along with Tomer Ginat as Hapoel Tel Aviv jumped out to a 28-22 lead after the first quarter, but Jon Davis, Mike McGuirl and Eric Griffin cut down the advantage to a single point, but an Xavier Munford triple gave the Reds a 53-49 lead at halftime. Bar Timor, Ginat, Brown and Munford bumped up the score into double digits as Amit Gershon tried to keep the hosts close but went down 84-71 after thirty minutes as Hoard polished up the game in the final frame to take the win.

Hoard scored 29 points, Munford added 18 points, Ginat scored 16 points, Timor chipped in with 13 points while Brown scored 12 points and dished out 10 assists in the win. David paced Haifa with 17 points and Gershon scored 16 points in the loss.

J’Covan Brown spoke about the win, “Just finding my rhythm back with the team, it’s been a long time and for me it’s about fitting in, whenever they need me, just to be ready. I was getting the guys in position and ready to play basketball. We are hard to beat and we’ve just got to play defense and have fun. We all care about each other, build a bond and the lockerroom is great.”

Hapoel Afula slipped by Bnei Herzliya 65-64 as Cassius Stanley hit a pair of clutch free throws as time would down to give the hosts the win. Noam Avivi led the way with 18 points and Stanley added 11 points in the win as Ethan Burg scored 12 points and Tyler Stone chipped in with 11 points in the defeat.