Nes Ziona downed a game Hapoel Beer Sheva 85-78 in an end to end battle at the Lev Hamoshava Arena. Brad Greenberg’s squad took a 53-43 lead into the second half but Rami Hadar’s Beer Sheva was able to tie up the game in the final frame. But strong play by Braian Angola and Patrick Miller down the stretch helped snatch the horn win in front of 500 fans.

Miller finished off the night with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 11 would drawn, Jerome Meyinsse added 16 points and 9 boards, Angola chipped in with 15 points while Wayne Selden dropped 14 points in the win. Caleb Agada led Beer Sheva with 18 points, Travis Warech added 15 points and Spencer Weisz chipped in with 12 points in the loss.

“The effort was good,” began Greenberg, “but they had a lot of offensive rebounds. We got behind but fought back and were able to take the win.”

“We gave up way too many points in the first half,” explained Hadar. “I believe that we can do better while you (the media) think we can do worse.”

Nes Ziona jumped all over Hapoel Beer Sheva in the first quarter as Jerome Meyinsse worked the inside while Brain Angola, Wayne Selden and Nimrod Levi scored from the outside as Caleb Agada tried to keep the visitors close but were down 25-16 after ten minutes.

Patrick Miller, Tal Dunne and Selden continued to pour on the offense in the second quarter as Travis Warech, Eric Griffin and Agada who hit a triple at the buzzer tried to keep Beer Sheva within striking distance but Nes Ziona remained in the drivers seat up 53-43 at halftime.

Nimrod Levi began heating up in the third quarter as he complimented Dunne, Miller and Angola while Agada kept pouring in points as did Amit Suss, but Brad Greenberg’s team kept the lead 67-59.

Travis Warech and Spencer Weisz’s sharpshooting gave Beer Sheva a 72-67 lead midway through the fourth quarter but Selden and Miller knotted the game up at 74-74 with just a few minutes remaining. However, points by Angola and Miller closed out the game as Nes Ziona chalked up the victory.

Hapoel Eilat sunk Maccabi Haifa 98-88 at the Red Sea city as Casey Prather and Markel Brown paced the hosts with 20 points each in the win. After a close first quarter, Ariel Beit Halachmi’s squad began to pull away as they headed into the final frame with a 22-point lead to cruise to the victory. Joe Ragland added 19 points and 7 assists while Ben Carter put up a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Amit Ben David’s team saw Kalin Lucas check in with 24 points as Chris Dowe added 20 points in the loss.

In Balkan League action, Hapoel Holon defeated Kumanovo 83-74 to get the second round of play underway with a win. Maxim De Zeeuw scored 22 points after having gone scoreless the day before in Champions League action, Isaiah Miles added 14 points and Niv Misgav score 13 points in the win.