Maccabi Tel Aviv walloped Bnei Herzliya 105-89 as they took out all of their frustration from the Panathinaikos loss last week in the 16-point win to advance to the State Cup semifinals. The yellow-and-blue had 6-players in double digits in the win that will now see them tip-off against Nes Ziona in the Final Four. In the other semifinal, Hapoel Jerusalem will face Hapoel Haifa.
The game turned very quickly into a track meet as Lorenzo Brown scored at will in the first quarter while Jake Cohen, Rafi Menco and Wade Baldwin all got busy in the second period to give Maccabi a 59-44 lead at halftime. Maurice Kemp tried to keep Herzliya close in the third quarter but Cohen and Bonzie Colson made sure that there would be no comeback in this game as the yellow-and-blue cruised to the win.
Menco who went 5/5 from deep and Brown each scored 17 points, Cohen added 15 points, Baldwin chipped in with 13 points while Colson and Roman Sorkin each scored 10 points in a win that saw Maccabi go 16/27 from beyond the arc. Kemp led all scorers with 23 points while Gabe Levin and Sandy Cohen scored 14 points a piece in the loss.
“All in all it was a good game,” Oded Katash began. “The first quarter we weren’t aggressive enough and we weren’t focused well enough but in the second quarter a few minutes we really locked down and changed the complexion of the game. I was happy as to how we played offensively and parts I liked defensively. At Maccabi Tel Aviv every title shouldn’t be taken for granted.”
“Maccabi deserves a lot of credit and they played really well, Herzlia coach Oren Aharoni said. “We weren’t aggressive enough and didn’t have depth as they scored really well and our defense just wasn’t there in this game.”
Jake Cohen reflected on the victory, “The Cup is a different animal and we wanted to make sure we started on the right foot, there were part where we were inconsistent but we played really well and we played some beautiful basketball in this game which I hope we can keep up.”
Sandy Cohen also summed up the game, “The loss was due to a combination of a few things. Maccabi came out with extra energy and they had a little extra motivation after we beat them earlier in the year. Plus Chris being out was also an issue along with some other things.”
Stevie Thompson Jr. opened the game with points for Bnei Herzliya, Bonzie Colson responded from deep for Maccabi Tel Aviv as Andy Van Vliet came right back with a triple of his own while Wade Baldwin did the same but Quinton Hooker hit one as well as the game was all knotted up at 10-10 midway through the first quarter.
Gabe Levin made his return to Israeli basketball with a monster jam, Baldwin and Lorenzo Brown scored jumpers, Hooker went from downtown as did Jake Cohen who also added points inside as the scoring parade continued, Brown put in a floater and a jumper, Kemp dunked, Gamble put a 3-point play, John Dibartolomeo drilled home a corner 3-ball and Brown nailed a triple to close out a busy first frame as Maccabi grabbed a 31-26 lead after ten minutes of play.
Rafi Menco joined the party with a trio of 3-pointers, Gamble scored in the paint as did Sorkin, Kemp added a pair, Baldwin came out of a timeout with a triple, Cohen added one as well and then finished a coast to coast layup to give Maccabi a 59-44 lead at halftime.
Thompson began the second half just as he did the first with points, but Oded Katash’s squad quickly bumped the score back up with points from Menco and Baldwin, Colson added a bucket as well and Nebo with a mega dunk to give Maccabi a 73-50 lead midway through the third quarter.
Kemp scored in the paint, Levin put in points as well, Cohen drilled a 3-pointer, Iftach Ziv went from downtown as he finished off a team passing play, Yair Kravitz and Kemp found points for a struggling Herzliya but the yellow-and-blue saw Brown hit a triple to go into the final frame up 87-70.
Brown and Sandy Cohen traded baskets to begin the fourth quarter, Ziv hit a jumper and then a layup to keep Maccabi in front 93-77 with five minutes remaining in regulation time. Menco and Levin scored at either end, Sorkin and Menco found points from the inside and outside while a Levin kept scoring for the visitors but it wouldn’t be enough as Maccabi wrapped up the win.
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