There’s no question that Tyrus McGee is one of the most dynamic players in the Israel Basketball League this season and if the Holon guard’s performance against Hapoel Jerusalem earlier in the week proved that point, his showing in the club’s latest win over Maccabi Rishon Le’Zion added the stamp of approval. The Stringtown, Oklahoma native led the way to a 99-94 win over Rishon with 31 points which marked his season high after having scored 26 in the victory over the Reds earlier in the week.

McGee went 6/9 from two, 5/9 from three and topped that off by grabbing 8 rebounds to boot as he helped Stefanos Dedas’s club move further up the standings as they now sport a 15-7 record with two games left in the second round.

Interestingly enough McGee comes off the bench for Holon after having started for so many teams in the past and as he explained after last game’s MVP performance he doesn’t mind one bit as it helped him analyze the defensive schemes and aids him as he figures out how best to beat the opposing team.

This man's on FIRE! Season-High 31 points for @T_Real25 tonight in @HapoelHolonBC's home W pic.twitter.com/AnsBtS8fdP

— Winner League (@WinnerLeague) April 22, 2021

“70% of the games he comes off the bench” said Coach Dedas. “Tyrus is a very good athlete and I want him to be continuously on the court for long period of time. I keep him on the bench for the first few minutes and then have him play about 15 minutes straight in each half.”

McGee came out fast and furious when he entered the clash in the first quarter and checked in with 12 points in the frame including a triple at the buzzer to end the frame. Maxim De Zeeuw who had played in the last couple of games after having been out with a back issue also got into the swing of things quickly, “I’m happy and I’m getting back to myself after the back issue. I’m happy I’m hitting my shots and made some moves to get into the game quickly and I had confidence throughout the game. It wasn’t an easy win as they were fighting for their position in the standings.”

De Zeeuw was well aware what McGee brings to the table to help the team out, “When you have this type of player it’s an extra weapon and the last couple of games he’s shooting at a very high percentage and he is carrying the team.”

McGee kept finding the bottom of the basket as he paced Holon and came up big time and time again when Rishon made their runs cutting the deficit to only a few points late in the game, but were able to hold on against rising star Noam Dovrat, Darryl Monroe and Golan Gutt.

Dedas who was slated to fly to Greece just hours before the game to straighten out a small visa issue in order to enter Russia for the Champions League Final 8 expressed his concerns about the team as they now ready for 3 more games in 5 days with the Balkan League Final Four right around the corner, “Right now the win is important and to stay as healthy as possible. I’m happy but I’m worried about the shape we will have in the Final 8. 70% of the player have small injuries. All the of them have something.”

“The schedule doesn’t help us and we relied on our offensive talent and played small ball with Johnson at the 5 to cover like a group. We could have finished the game earlier and the guys made crucial plays. Rishon is very good, competitive and tried to stay in the game,” the coach said.

“They scored a number of 3-pointers at the end of the clock,” Goodes explained. “There are things you can stop and some you just can’t. They hit some great shots and McGee and Harris are in great form. We played against one of the best offenses in the league and maybe there were things we could have done better.”

Holon now readies for Bnei Hezrliya on Sunday night, Hapoel Gilboa Galil in Balkan league semifinal play on Tuesday and then either the continental competition’s final or 3-4 place game on Thursday before finished the second round of Israeli games next Saturday at Hapoel Tel Aviv before heading to the Final 8. A rough schedule ahead for sure, but if McGee can continue his fine form of late then Holon may be in good enough shape to platy their best ball possible.

In Other Action
Hapoel Gilboa Galil picked up right from where they left off earlier in the week as they downed Hapoel Haifa 83-68 in the Carmel. Iftach Ziv (15p/8a)m Kerry Blackshear (15p/9r) and Netanel Artzi were able to help Avishay Gordon’s squad to the victory as they held off Amit Simhon (16p) and Jason Siggers (12p) who paced the Reds.