Maccabi Tel Aviv cruised past Hapoel Holon 102-75 as a rejuvenated Lonnie Walker scored 31 points to help lead the yellow-and-blue to the easy victory at Yad Eliyahu. In a game that saw all 12 Maccabi players score, Oded Katash’s squad jumped out to a 57-31 lead at halftime and never looked back to notch the win following a pair of defeats, to Bologna in the Euroleague and Hapoel Tel Aviv in Israeli league action. In addition to Walker’s 31 points, Jaylen Hoard and Jimmy Clark each had 12 points a piece while Idan Zalmanson paced the purples with 13 points in the loss.

“We started well, defended well, stuck to the game plan,” Maccabi bench boss Oded Katash began. “I really liked the way we played. As for Lonnie Walker, he was amazing and he did what he knows how to do, he was good on both sides of the floor and he was focused. I’m happy.”

Lonnie Walker who starred with 31 points said, “I really missed it, my guys welcomed me back nicely and I wanted to show what I’m capable of and most importantly, to win. I’m trying to be a leader and I want to show my true ability.”

“We’ll have to take a good look at ourselves,” Holon Head Coach Danny Franco said. “Something wasn’t right in how we came into the game and from the very first second, there was no game. I’m standing here speaking for myself, but many of our fans came and this is not what they expected to see or what we expected. It was a bad night, but it happened.”

Hapoel Jerusalem eased past Maccabi Ramat Gan 88-69 in a game that was never in doubt from the get go as the Reds jumped out to a 17-point halftime advantage and never looked back to chalk up the win. The trio of Khadeen Carrington, Cassius Winston and Josiah Jordan James all scored 17 points for the capital city squad while Ronaldo Segu led the visitors with 17 points in the loss.

Jerusalem Head Coach Yonatan Alon said, “We played well, we continue to develop in the direction we want to be heading in even with players that are missing. I liked the commitment, the way we defended,p and there are many good things to take from this game. We have nothing slated for the international break, so we won’t be able to work on things, but at least the injured players will have a chance to recover.”

Kadeen Carrington summed up the victory as well as playing with the Israel National Team in the upcoming window of FIBA games, “We stuck to the game plan, played the way we wanted to play and didn’t let anything else affect the game. I need to be myself and be aggressive with Israel. That’s what I need to do and exactly what I’ll do. Every time I step on the court, I give 100%.”

Hapoel Tel Aviv trounced Elitzur Netanya 93-70 to ensure that their Israeli league decide remained a perfect 6-0 on the young season. The reds broke away in the second quarter to go up 46-29 at halftime and never looked back to secure the victory. Tyler Ennis led the way with 17 points, Ish Wainright added 14 points and Johnathan Motley scored 13 points for Dimitrios Itoudis’s squad while Semaj Christon scored 17 points and Shaq Buchanan put in 14 points in the loss.

“We have no secrets to our success,” Itoudis began. “We love playing together, everyone has a role and everyone gets their place, that creates a healthy locker room. Congratulations to the players and also to the fans they created a great atmosphere and it gives us the push we need.”

Bar Timor commented on the win, “We’re working, preparing ourselves for each game in a short time and I’m happy to see the results. I’m glad the team has connected; we’ve been working on that. I’m happy everything is going well. We’ll have tough moments too and that’s part of the season.”

Hapoel HaEmek bounced Maccabi Rishon Le’Zion 89-75 as a half a dozen players scored in double digits to help the club to their sixth win in a row up at Gan Ner. In a close game throughout the opening three quarters, Sharon Avrahami’s squad finally broke free in the final frame to take the win. Cameron Henry scored 17 points and Kyler Edwards put in 16 points in the victory while Amin Stevens put in 21 points in the defeat.

Bnei Herzliya defeated Hapoel Galil Elyon 88-75 as Elijah Stewart with 23 points and Noah Carter with 17 points were just too strong for the hosts playing in pastoral Kfar Blum.

Nes Ziona downed Maccabi Raanana 85-77 as Desi Rodriguez with 20 points and TJ Cline with 14 points helped Amit Sherf’s team to the victory.

Kiryat Ata beat Hapoel Beer Sheva 94-80 as Noah Locke and Bode Hume each scored 17 points to spur Eldad Bentov’s team to the win.