It took 50 minutes but Maccabi Tel Aviv finally downed a short-handed Hapoel Haifa 108-104 in double overtime in one of the most dramatic Israeli league games of the season. The Yellow & Blue entered the contest after having defeated Haifa 80-59 last week up north in league play but has then fallen to Real Madrid 98-65 on Friday.
The Carmel Reds came out flying in the first half as Kadeem Allen, Anthony Hickey and Devonte Upson controlled the pace of play to grab a 55-41 lead. However, Jalen Adams and Bonzie Colson scored at will over the course of the second half to knot the game up at 88-88 at the end of regulation time.
The first extra session saw a repeat of the opening forty minutes as Hickey and Allen scored for Haifa while Adams and Colson countered for Maccabi as the contest headed into the second overtime tied up at 97-97.
However, without Allen and Upson who had fouled out, Maccabi hit their free throws down the stretch as Hickey tried valiantly to will Haifa to the win but his late game baskets weren’t enough as the yellow-and-blue took the win.
Adams led the way with 26 points, Colson added 25 points while Roman Sorkin and Josh Nebo each scored 12 points in the win. Hickey paced Haifa with 30 points, Allen added 22 points and Upson checked in with 21 points in the loss.
“It’s hard to sum up this game,” an exhausted Oded Katash began after midnight. “We felt from the start of the game that we were very tense after coming back from Madrid and the game against Haifa last week didn’t help us prepare for this one. We gave up 55 points in the first half, we didn’t use our fouls and we weren’t focused as Haifa came in with nothing to lose. In the second half we came back but we didn’t expect to have players play so many minutes in this game. We battled and the best thing that can be taken away from this game is the win.”
“I’ve been in this profession for many years,” a disappointed Sharon Drucker said. “You play well and control most of the game but it ended the way it did, with a loss. It was a great game and we did our homework after the last match at Romema less than a week ago. We now have about 40 hours until our next game in the Europe Cup.”
Game MVP Bonzie Colson explained that this was the first time he had played in such a crazy game, “I think this would be the first time in such a game but it was fun out there and the atmosphere was great. It showed the heart of the team and what we can do when we are down and out. It was a great win at the end of the day.”
Kadeem Allen opened the game with points from the outside and the inside, while Deonte Upson scored a pair of baskets inside for Hapoel Haifa, but Josh Nebo made his mark in the paint as the game was all knotted up at 11-11 midway through the first quarter. Anthony Hickey began to find points while Allen and Upson also scored at will, but Bonzie Colson hit a pair of triples at the end of the period as the Carmel Reds grabbed an early 30-26 lead after ten minutes of play.
Hickey kept finding the basket as he drove into the paint for a trio of layups and Spencer Weisz also scored for Sharon Drucker’s squad as Oded Katash was forced to take a timeout with his side down 42-34 with 5:23 remaining in the second quarter. Iftach Ziv and Hickey traded baskets, Weisz went from deep, Upson dunked, Allen dialled up long distance while Moriel Lutati put in a 3-point play to give Haifa a 55-41 lead at halftime.
Jalen Adams with a triple and a deuce got the third quarter underway and Colson delivered from deep to cut the lead to 56-50 midway through the frame. Jalen Jones came back with a corner 3-ball and Weisz added a jumper for Haifa’s first points of the half, Roman Sorkin and Ziv responded, Colson dunked but Ofek Avital nailed a 3-pointer to keep Haifa in front 68-60 after thirty minutes of action.
Hickey and Colson traded baskets to begin the fourth quarter, Adams hit a floater, Allen came back with a 3-pointer as did Weisz as Haifa continued to lead 76-70 with 6:43 remaining in regulation time. Adams hit a deuce, Colson powered in a basket, Sorkin hit a pair of free throws to draw even at 76-76 with 4:24 to go.
Colson and Hickey went from deep while Darrun Hilliard and Will Rayman did the same, Hickey then drained one over Adams’s head, Adams came back with points from the inside and outside but Allen put back a rebound to tie the game up at 88-88 as the game headed into overtime.
John Dibartolomeo and Hickey traded triples to get the extra session underway, Adams added a deuce, Upson dunked, Hickey scored a layup, Colson scored off the glass via a Ziv assist but Allen also scored as the contest headed to a second five minute frame knotted up at 97-97.
Colson sank a trio of free throws, Sorkin and Martin added a pair of their own, Nebo hit a jumper, Hickey drilled home a triple and then a layup but it was too little too late as Maccabi wrapped up the dramatic win.
Hapoel Galil Elyon downed Hapoel Jerusalem 89-83 as Itay Moskovits broke a 82-82 tie late in the game to help his team to the win. Barak Peleg’s squad raced out to a 49-36 lead at halftime as Moskovits, Deishuan Booker and Bryce Washington led the way but Oz Blayzer battled for the capital city reds to knot the game up at 82 with 1:12 left in the final frame. However, Moskovits with a deuce and free throws wrapped up the victory for the hosts.
Moskovits led all scorers with 25 points, Washington added 18 points and Booker scored 16 points in the win. Blayzer scored 23 points and Khadeen Carrington chipped in with 16 points for Jerusalem in the loss.
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