Maccabi Tel Aviv overcame a rough start to down Nes Ziona 85-73 as Lorenzo Brown returned to action after a short period out injured and advance to the Israel State Cup finals. Brown, who signed a 3-year extension with the yellow-and-blue just last week paced Oded Katash’s squad from the get go as the point guard distributed the ball with ease and scored at will to help the club punch their ticket to the title game slated for Thursday night at the Jerusalem Arena.

Nes Ziona began the game on a positive note as Tyler Bey and Shaq Buchanan controlled the pace of play from the outset to take an early first quarter lead, but Lorenzo Brown began to get back into the swing of things as the point guard and big man Josh Nebo were able to give Maccabi a 42-36 advantage at halftime.

Bonzie Colson began to score in the third quarter as the Norte Dame product along with Brown and Nebo kept finding the bottom of the basket to go up by 16-points after thirty minutes. Bey and DJ Cooper tried to pull Nes Ziona back into the game in the fourth quarter but Jarell Martin, Nebo and Brown made sure there would be no comeback as Maccabi secured their spot in the final.

Brown ended the game with 19 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds, Nebo scored 16 points and added 11 boards while Colson scored 13 points in the win. Cooper paced Nes Ziona with 16 points and 12 assists, Bey added 15 points and Meyinsee chipped in with 13 points in the loss.

“We played well for a good amount of the game and we spoke about just playing calmly and with patience,” Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Oded Katash said. “We controlled the rebounds and we did what we needed to. I missed having seen Lorenzo and Wade playing together, we waited for some time to get Lorenzo back onto the court.”

“The game went ok and the first half we were able to play our game,” Nes Ziona coach Elad Hasin began. “But Maccabi can punish you when you turn the ball over. We did our best and we were able to get to the semifinals but we weren’t good enough to beat Maccabi Tel Aviv. Our fans came out with great support and we really appreciate that.”

Josh Nebo also spoke about the game that was, “It was a very tough game and both teams competed hard. We started the game flat and we didn’t have the energy we needed, but at the end of the day I’m very happy that we got the win. I missed him [Lorenzo Brown] and playing with Zo makes the game a lot easier for me. I’m happy to have him back.”

Jerome Meyinsee reflected on the contest, “We tried to follow our game plan and slow the game down. We know that Maccabi are a great team and we tried to stop their fast break and control the boards and get to the line. But we still came up short.”

Tyler Bey and Shaq Buchanan scored easy baskets for Nes Ziona to begin the game, Jarell Martin and Lorenzo Brown responded from deep for Maccabi Tel Aviv, Bey scored again and Ronnie Harrell dialled up long distance but Josh Nebo powered home a pair of baskets as Elad Hasin’s squad held a 21-16 lead after the minutes of play.

Wade Baldwin with a deuce and Brown with a triple started off the second quarter to pull Maccabi even, as Rafi Menco went from deep and Brown dunked and put in a layup while Nebo jammed as well to give Oded Katash’s team a 30-26 lead with 5:33 left in the first half. Roman Sorkin scored his first points of the game, Colson added a bucket, Buchanan answered with a dunk, Iftach Ziv added points for Maccabi to give the yellow-and-blue a 42-36 advantage at halftime.

Colson nailed a 3-pointer, Nebo scored and Brown went from deep to lead off the third quarter, Harrell went from downtown but so did Menco as Maccabi bumped up their lead to 55-42 midway through the period. Meyinsee put in a 3-point play, Sorkin scored with his back to the basket, Martin went from beyond the arc, John Dibartolomeo did the same from the corner as Katash’s crew continued to stay in front 69-53 after thirty minutes of action.

Buchanan, Meyinsee and Cooper all put in points to start off the fourth quarter, Nebo scored, Bey dunked and added a 3-point play and then another layup to pull Nes Ziona to 78-67 with five minutes remaining in regulation time. Cooper went from deep, Nebo split a pair of free throws, Martin hit a pair from the charity stripe and Brown scored a layup as Maccabi Tel Aviv moved onto the State Cup finals.