Maccabi Tel Aviv downed Nahariya 98-81 in a tough game in the northern capital. The Yellow & Blue started the game hot, but Nahariya came back to take the lead by halftime. However, Ioannis Sfairopoulos’s squad wore down the hosts as Elijah Bryant starred to take the win.

Elijah Bryant led the way with 25 points, Othello Hunter added 19 points and Oz Blayzer chipped in with 13 points in the win. Joe Alexander scored 21 points while Dominic Waters added 17 and Jaron Blossomgame put in 16 points in the win.

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Oz Blayzer scored in the paint and from beyond the arc to get Maccabi Tel Aviv off and running while Elijah Bryant went from deep and sent Othello Hunter a beautiful alley-oop pass to give the Yellow & Blue a 14-3 lead midway through the first quarter. Bryant with a triple and Angelo Caloiaro with a bucket but Kalin Lucas, Joe Alexander, Jaron Blossomgame and Or Leumi all brought Nahariya back into the game as Maccabi led 23-20 after ten minutes.

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Dori Sahar and Blayzer found points in the paint, Hunter and Devon Scott traded baskets while Blossomgame scored as well to keep Danny Franco’s side close down 34-30 with 5:25 left in the second quarter. Blossomgame once again found points in the paint while Lucas and Waters went from downtown while Waters then picked Chris Jones’s pocket for more points as Nahariya grabbed a 47-45 lead at halftime.

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Bryant put in points for Maccabi but Alexander drilled a pair of triple and Lucas added free throws to keep Nahariya in front 55-53 midway through the third quarter. Hunter scored in the paint as did Bender for Ioannis Sfairopoulos’s squad while Lucas and Blossomgame scored from beyond the arc but Bryant scored in bundles while John DiBartolomeo put in a reverse layup to end the frame all knotted up at 65-65.

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Hunter with a pair of buckets in the paint and Dibartolomeo with a triple was immediately answered at the other end of the court by Alexander, however, Caloiaro and Cohen gave Maccabi a slim 77-75 advantage with 6:33 left in regulation time. Jones and Blayzer bumped up the Yellow & Blue lead, Hunter put in a turnaround hook shot and Bryant added points in the paint as the visitors ran off with a 21-4 run to end the game with a 98-81 victory.