Hapoel Holon downed Maccabi Raanana 90-79 as Jordan McRae starred in his return to action after an injury scare a couple of weeks ago to pace the purples to the victory. Derrick Walton Jr. set the tone early for Danny Franco’s team while McRae filled the basket with ease, however, Tyrece Radford and Nate Laszewski handed Shai Segalovic’s squad a 40-37 lead at halftime. But Holon broke away in the third quarter as McRae turned up the offense to hand his team the win.

McRae scored 24 points, Walton Jr. added 16 points and Yair Kravits scored 11 points in the victory while Radford scored 23 points, Laszewski put in 17 points and Daylen Kountz scored 13 points in the loss.

Holon Head Coach Danny Franco spoke about the win, “I’m very happy that we won the game and we have a squad that had it’s issues with injuries so we never know exactly what we can get from the players. I had everyone play in the first half to see who was able to play well and it was tough for McRae but I really appreciate every player’s toughness and willingness to take on more in order to win the game.”

Raanana bench boss Shai Segolovic also talked about the game, “We saw two different halves and the first four minutes of the third quarter we gave up 18 points that really hurt us. McRae was a factor and we tried to come back and cut the gap but it was tough. We are trying to bring in some players to help out the situation including a big man to play with Joe Ragland but the market is difficult.”

Lior Carreira reflected on the win, “A victory is always good for us as a team and it was a tricky game for us. We needed to focus on our play and we did just that. We came back after the break playing well and we have to continue to do so. I’m feeling good and the team is playing well so that’s great for us.”

Alex Leder spoke about the game, “Tough loss and string of losses for us, we started the game well and were a bit lackadaisical in the third quarter on defense. I enjoy coming to work and playing with the guys and I hope we can come back to winning games. Staying together as a team is important for us now.”

Derrick Walton Jr. and Netanel Artzi got Hapoel Holon off to a good start but points from Daylen Kountz and Alex Leder helped Maccabi Raanana stay close at the purples led 17-16 after ten minutes of play. Jordan McRae scored for Danny Franco’s squad to begin the second quarter while Kountz, Willy Workman and Joe Ragland countered for Shai Segalovic’s team while Nate Laszewski dunked, scored from the outside and found points in the paint to give the hosts a 40-37 advantage at halftime.

Lior Carreira and McRae opened the third quarter with buckets, Tyrece Radford responded with a trio of baskets, Nysier Brooks dunked, Kountz and Walton traded baskets while Yair Kravits filled the hoop to give Holon a 67-57 lead after thirty minutes of action. Laszewski went from deep, Idan Zalmanson, McRae and Kravits all came back with points, Workman and Radford responded but it was too little, too late as the purples took the win.

Maccabi Tel Aviv took out Nes Ziona 88-72 as Roman Sorkin went perfect from the field and scored 17 points to pace the yellow-and-blue to the double-digit victory. Lonnie Walker scored 13 points and Tamir Blatt put in 12 points for Oded Katash’s team while Itay Moskovitz scored 14 points and Bryce Brown scored 13 points for Amit Sherf’s squad in the defeat.

The yellow-and-blue bench boss Oded Katash spoke about the tough victory, “There was a feeling in the morning that it would be a difficult game for us. It wasn’t a smooth win as it took us a long time to get into the game. They were much more aggressive and energetic than we were. We have to extend the rotation like we tried to do in this game but we won’t always be able to turn a game around like we did here.”

Nes Ziona Head Coach Amit Sherf said, “You can’t blink your eyes against a team like Maccabi Tel Aviv. The late–shot-clock plays are what hurt us the most. We played pretty good offense, but every time we missed a three-pointer, they took advantage of it and went on a run at the other end. We’ll need to find ways to win.”

Hapoel Beer Sheva overwhelmed Hapoel Jerusalem 90-75 as CJ Elleby, Yoav Vitlem and Cody Demps paced the southern reds to a 52-38 lead at halftime and never looked back as Rami Hadar’s squad scored the surprise win in the desert capital. Elleby scored 18 points while Vitlem and Demps each put in 17 points for the hosts as Jared Harper scored 19 points and newcomer Isaiah Mobley who was making his debut added 14 points in the loss.

Beer Sheva Head Coach Rami Hadar spoke about the win, “A bit of everything contributed to the win. For the first time, we won in an efficient way as we took more shots at the basket than the other team and that’s very significant. We finally made our 3-point shots at a proper level and that then opens up our entire game and shows that we have more tools, including passing between the big men. This was our best game of the season and I hope it continues.”

Jerusalem Head Coach Yonatan Alon summed up the loss, “Offensively we were very bad and lacked concentration, we came in really poorly, we came in unprepared. That’s on me. I told the players that if they come into a game like this, when everyone isn’t focused, then I probably didn’t prepare them well and I’ll find a way to prepare them better. It’s mental, clearly. We’re much better than this.”

Maccabi Rishon LeZion defeated Elitzur Netanya 80-71 as Qua Grant helped the hosts to a 47-35 halftime lead and looked back to take the win. Grant scored 18 points, DJ Burns added 13 points and Khalil Ahmad scored 12 points in the win while Shaq Buchanan and Jalen Riley scored 17 points in the loss.