Maccabi Tel Aviv downed Bnei Herzliya 98-75 as the yellow-and-blue used a big 18-3 run led by Chris Jones to begin the third quarter to notch the win. Visiting Herzliya kept the game close throughout the first half but Yovel Zoosman, John DiBartolomeo and a last second triple by Oz Blazyer at the end of the first half gave Ioannis Sfairopoulos’s squad breathing room before they opened the second half and blew away the visitors to seal up the victory.

Ante Zizic led Maccabi with 19 points, Blayzer added 15 points, Jones scored 14 points and dished out 10 assists while John DiBartolomeo chipped in with 13 points in the win. Coty Clarke led Sharon Drucker’s team with 21 points, Elijah Thomas added 16 points and Aviram Zelikovits scored 10 points in the loss.

Ante Zizic scored inside for Maccabi Tel Aviv to get the first quarter underway while Oz Blayzer also added points but Coty Clarke countered for Bnei Herzliya but Yovel Zoosman with a 3-pointer gave the hits a 11-10 lead midway through the opening frame. Elijah Thomas and Abdul Gaddy found points while Dragan Bender and TJ Cline scored in the paint to keep the Yellow & Blue ahead 21-20 after ten minutes.

Isaiah Eisendorf and John DiBartolomeo traded baskets, Tyler Dorsey nailed 3-pointer but Aviram Zelicowitz put in a layup for Herzliya, however, DiBartolomeo went from deep once again as Ioannis Sfairopoulos’s squad stayed in front 34-31 with 5:25 left in the second quarter. Sandy Cohen with a deuce, Elishay Kadir countered with a layup but a smart play by Zoosman, free throws by DiBartolomeo and a last gasp triple at the buzzer by Blayzer gave Maccabi a 45-36 advantage at halftime.

Caloiaro, Zizic and Zoosman all scored to get the third quarter going, Chris Jones dialled up from long distance and Zizic scored a pair of buckets in the paint to rip off an 18-3 run to take a 63-38 lead midway through the frame. Max Heidegger and Clarke scored for Herzliya but Jones and Dorsey answered for Maccabi as they stayed in front 75-56.

DiBartolomeo opened the fourth period with points, Thomas and Clarke responded for Herzliya but Jones continued to score for Maccabi as they led 85-67 with 5:30 left in regulation time. Zizic with a putback, Dorsey with a 3-point play, Blayzer with a triple and a floater handed the hosts an easy 23-point win.