Hapoel Holon knocked off Hapoel Jerusalem 103-94 as Tyrus McGee shredded the Reds defense all game long to propel the hosts to the victory. Without head coach Stefanos Dedas on the sidelines due to a one game suspension, Chris Johnson paced the hosts in the first half for assistant coach Amit Sherf while McGee was the spark plug over the course of the second half to notch the win.

McGee led all scorers with 26 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, CJ Harris added 19 points, Isaiah Miles scored 18 points and Chris Johnson chipped in with 12 points for Holon. Suleiman Braimoh scored 22 points, Stanton Kidd added 16 points, Tashawn Thomas scored 15 points and Tamir Blatt recorded a double-double with 10 points and 13 assists in the defeat.

“I’m happy that we went back to playing Holon basketball and that of Stefanos Dedas,” Sherf explained following the contest. “We still have some things to work on but we were able to get into the paint and also hit out 3-pointers.”

“Our defense wasn’t good enough today and we have to focus on that,” Jerusalem coach Yonatan Alon said. “We have to find some solutions. There is a lot of desire and character and everyone has to work together to play harder and battle, play defense for our fans and that will happen.”

The star of the game, Tyrus McGee was all smiles after the game, “I came out to be myself and stick to the coach’s game plan. I knew how important it was to beat Jerusalem after the last game against Nes Ziona which was tough. We had to come back.”

Isaiah Miles for Hapoel Holon and Tamir Blatt for Hapoel Jerusalem traded triples to get the game underway in fine fashion while it continued to rain 3’s early on as CJ Harris, Chris Kramer and Stanton Kidd all found points from deep with the Reds leading 12-10 midway through the first quarter. Suleiman Braimoh went from deep while Ray McCallum and Blatt added buckets but Chris Johnson, Frederic Bourdillon and Tyrus McGee scored to give the hosts a 26-23 lead after ten minutes of play.

Johnson opened up the second quarter with a corner triple and a pair of quick layups while Blatt and Adam Ariel went from downtown and Tashawn Thomas scored inside to help the visits take a 36-35 advantage with 6:46 left in the half. Bourdillon scored off the glass, Thomas put down a vicious alleyoop, Miles and McGee dialled up long distance and Willy Workman stole the ball and went in for a dunk to put Holon up 47-42 with 2:46 left in the frame. McGee inside and Guy Pnini outside pumped up Amit Sherf’s squad’s lead to 54-56 at halftime.

Braimoh scored at will for Jerusalem to get the third quarter underway, but Willy Workman and Maxim De Zeeuw kept Holon in front 62-59 midway through the period. Miles and Workman kept filling the basket, Braimoh, Thomas and Kidd countered for Yonatan Alon’s crew, but McGee with a pair of 3-point plays and Miles from the corner bumped up the advantage to 79-72 after thirty minutes of end to end action.

McGee began the fourth quarter where he left off by cutting into the paint and scoring a pair of layups while McCallum answered for Jerusalem with a trio of free throws and a 3-pointer as Holon stayed in front 85-78 with 6:59 left in regulation time. Idan Zalmanson scored inside, Braimoh went from the outside but CJ Harris put in a floater, free throws and a triple while Guy Pnini sealed the win for Holon from deep

Hapoel Gilboa Galil dropped Maccabi Tel Aviv 85-78 in the Galilee to go two for two so far this season against the defending Israeli league champions. The yellow-and-blue held a slim 1-point lead at halftime but Avishay Gordon’s squad came out blazing in the second half and overwhelmed Ioannis Sfairopoulos’s team 32-15 in the third quarter to cruise to the victory.

Netanel Artzi and Joe Thomasson scored 15 points a piece, Kerry Blackshear added 13 points and 8 rebounds while Yotam Hanochi chipped in with 10 points for Gilboa in the win. Scottie Wilbekin led Maccabi with 22 points, Tyler Dorsey scored 17 points and Othello Hunter added 14 points in the loss.

Hapoel Tel Aviv defeated Bnei Herzliya 99-89 in a critical bottom of the standings matchup that saw the Reds move further away from the relegation zone as the second round of league games near its conclusion. Danny Franco’s squad jumped out to a quick lead, but the hosts quickly stepped back and took a 3-point lead into halftime. However, a strong fourth quarter thanks to Yam Madar, Raz Adam, Bar Timor and Tyrique Jones helped lead the Reds to the victory.

Madar scored 16 points and added 10 assists, Timor added 18 points and 8 assists, Justin Tillman checked in with 17 points and Reggie Upshaw scored 15 points in the win. Max Heidegger led Sharon Drucker’s team with 22 points and Coty Clarke added 18 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists in the defeat.

Nes Ziona downed Hapoel Haifa 100-70 as Brad Greenberg’s team jumped out to a 30-17 lead after the first quarter and never looked back to notch the win and continue to climb the standings. Wayne Selden led all scorers with 25 points, Patrick Miller added 16 points while Nimrod Levi notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Jason Siggers paced Haifa with 18 points and Keenan Evans scored 16 points in the loss for Elad Hasin’s squad.