Maccabi Tel Aviv disposed of Hapoel Haifa 98-73 with a huge second half to advance to the quarterfinals of the Israel State Cup. The yellow-and-blue outscored the Carmel Reds 55-33 over the final twenty minutes thanks to a well rounded attack led by Scottie Wilbekin.

Wilbekin led all scorers with 21 points and 8 assists, Ante Zizic added 14 points and 11 rebounds, Tyler Dorsey checked in with 12 points, captain John Dibartolomeo scored 11 points and Yovel Zoosman chipped in with 10 points in the win. Keenan Evans and Egor Nestrenko scored 16 points a piece for Haifa in the loss.

Meanwhile in Israeli league play, Hapoel Jerusalem defeated Bnei Herzliya 96-86 in a game that was never close as the Reds dominated the contest from the get go. Oded Katash’s squad broke open the clash in the third quarter as Sulieman Braimoh, J’Covan Brown and Tamir Blatt couldn’t miss to help Jerusalem up their perfect league record to 6-0.

Braimoh led all scorers with 25 points, Idan Zalmanson added 14 points and 8 rebounds, Brown scored 13 points and Blatt dropped 12 points going 4/5 from beyond the arc. Coty Clarke scored 21 points, Terrell Parks added 16 points and Max Heidegger chipped in with 14 points in the loss.

Hapoel Holon defeated Hapoel Beer Sheva 89-86 in an exciting game down south in the capital of the desert. Chris Johnson (27 points) and CJ Harris (20 points) paced Stefanos Dedas’s club throughout the clash while Eric Griffin (32 points) kept Rami Hadar’s team close enough for Spencer Weisz to have a chance to tie up the game with the final shot but his effort went off the rim as the visitors earned the win.

Hapoel Tel Aviv walloped Nahariya 94-71 as Reggie Upshaw led the way for the Reds with 33 points in the win. After a close first half that saw Hapoel head into half-time up by just two points 43-41, Yam Madar, Gabe York and Upshaw led the attack to smother the northern squad to take the victory. York scored 20 points, Madar ended the game with 18 points and Jonathan Mor chipped in with 12 points for Ioannis Kastritis’s squad. Kalin Lucas with 16 points and Joe Alexander with 14 points paced Danny Franco’s team in the loss.

Maccabi Rishon Le’Zion just got by Nes Ziona 79-74 in a hard fought battle that saw up and coming star Noam Avivi score a career high 22 points and added 10 rebounds in the win. Trey Lewis hit a huge triple to put Guy Goodes squad up by six points with 29 seconds left to salt away the win. Kwan Cheatham led Nes Ziona with 18 points while newcomer Braian Angola added 17 points in the loss.

Hapoel Eilat continued their hot start with an 85-81 win at struggling Maccabi Haifa. In a back and forth game throughout the 40 minutes, Joe Ragland drilled home a 3-pointer as time wound down to seal the deal for the Red Sea squad. Casey Prather led the way for Ariel Beit Halachmi’s team with 26 point, 9 rebonds to go with 5 assists and steals, Ragland scored 21 points added 7 boards and dish out 8 assists while rookie Josh Nebo checked in with a double-double 14 points and 16 rebounds. Guards Michael Brisker and Avi Ben Shimol each scored 21 points in the loss.