Hapoel Galil Elyon gave Maccabi Tel Aviv all that they could handle as the Yellow & Blue squeaked out an 88-84 win in overtime. The hosts took it right to Maccabi from the get go with strong play by Nimrod Levi and Chavaughn Lewis to open up a 16 point lead but Ante Zizic and Keenan Evans kept Ioannis Sfairopoulos’s squad in the game as they were able to knot it up by the end of the third quarter as well as by the end of regulation time at 73-73. Ike Iroegbu and Gaby Chachashvili caused problems for Maccabi down the stretch but as the time ticked off of the clock, Scottie Wilbekin and Jake Cohen went from deep to give the visitors the 4-point win.
Zizic led the way with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Wilbekin added 16 points, Jake Cohen scored 13 points and grabbed 11 boards while Keenan Evans chipped in with 13 points and 6 assists in the win. Chavaughn Lewis was the high scorer for Barak Peleg’s squad, Iroegbu added 19 points, Levi put in 17 points and Chachashvili scored 13 points and took 13 rebounds in the loss.
“We didn’t start the game well and we were not focussed defensively,” Sfairopoulos said following the game. We made mistakes on defense and they scored easy points. But in the overtime we showed out big heart and fighting spirit, we fought until the end and made a very important win.”
“Overall in the second half we played better but Galil was very good and they surprised me,” game MVP Ante Zizic said. “At the end we survived and made some important shots close to the end of the game to get the win.”
Nimrod Levi scored from the outside and inside to get Hapoel Galil Elyon on the board while Oz Blayzer and Ante Zizic countered for Maccabi Tel Aviv as the hosts grabbed a 13-6 lead midway through the first quarter. Gaby Chachashvili began to full the basket for Barak Peleg’s squad and Levi added points as Jake Cohen and Zizic tried to dent the lead but Galil took a 25-16 advantage after ten minutes.
Chavaughn Lewis got busy for the hosts with bunch of buckets to bump the lead up to 39-23 with 4:30 left in the second quarter. But Cohen, Keenan Evans and Zicic started to pull Maccabi back into the game as they got to within 8-points, 41-33 at halftime.
Maccabi came out flying to begin the second half with baskets from Zizic on the inside and Evans from the outside as the Yellow & Blue pulled even at 41-41 midway through the third quarter. Lewis drilled a a triple, Evans and Zizic once again scored as did Scottie Wilbekin from deep for a pair of 3-pointers, however, Ike Iroegbu and Levi found points as well but Cohen nailed a triple as the buzzer sounded to end the frame as the squads were knotted up at 57-57.
Wilbekin and Zizic scored for Ioannis Sfairopoulos’s team, Nunnally added a corner 3-ball as Isaiah Eisendorf scored for Galil but Maccabi took a 66-63 lead with 5:50 left in the fourth quarter. Chachashvili put the ball off the glass, Zizic did the same at the other end, Iroegbu went from deep for a pair of triples, Evans came back down for a deuce and Nunnally hit a trip of free throws as the game headed to overtime all tied up at 73-73.
Iroegbu hit his free throws and Chachashvili put down a pair of dunks to begin overtime, Ziv scored from the charity stripe, Wilbekin dialed up long distance as did Cohen to help Maccabi secure the 88-84 victory.
Hapoel Haifa downed Hapoel Beer Sheva 71-67 in a spirited affair up north as the Carmel Reds came all the way back from a 37-14 second quarter deficit to notch the win. Amit Suss (19 points) and Cody Demps (15 points) paced the southern capital squad early but thanks to superb play by Kadeem Allen (22 points), Will Rayman (14 points) and Gregory Vargas (11 points and 8 rebounds), Elad Hasin’s squad were able to take the win.
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