Hapoel Jerusalem defeated Maccabi Ramat Gan 93-79 to take a sliver of revenge for their loss earlier in the week in a game between the same two sides. The reds controlled the pace of play from the outset as Nimrod Levi and Chris Johnson led the way early while Levi Randolph and JaCorey Williams starred late to keep Adam Ariel, Nuni Omot and Yahel Melamed at bay. But t was Noam Dovrat who drilled home a critical 3-pointer in the fourth quarter to quell the hosts last gasp effort to snatch the victory from the jaws of defeat.

Williams led the way with 17 points and 9 rebounds, Randolph added 16 points, Johnson chipped in with 13 points and Speedy Smith chalked up a 11 point and 10 assist double-double in the win. Ariel scored 18 points while Omot and Melamed each put in 12 points in the loss.

“We got back to our principles after last game,” Jerusalem bench boss Yonatan Alon said. “I’m happy that the game ended in our favor as we put our focus on the right things, how to press the ball and to get back to ourselves. As for Williams, he’s a player that can do great things on both sides of the floor and it’s great we have him now as he’s our top big man. He came in as a replacement for Maurice N’Dour and now that Zach Hankins isn’t here JaCorey is very important for our team.”

“There were many missed shots and a lot of fouls,” Ramat Gan coach Shmulik Brenner explained. “They were very aggressive from the get go and we had a number of injured players. We were there until the end but we missed some shots as well. If we would have been able to score our shots in a timely manner that would have helped us, we also allowed too many offensive rebounds which hurt us. We have to bring another player due to the injuries, it’s a necessity. We need some time to regroup and get our guys back to full strength as well.”

The MVP of the game JaCorey Williams also locked back at the victory, “After last game where they were able to get into their offensive slow easily with a lot of pressure on the ball, we wanted to be aggressive and on the ball and ball screens to get back onto the winning track. I’m a guy that helps a team that plays the right way and we have a lot of guys that can get me the balls. When I’m flying around on defense and dunking I’m motivating my team. I wanted to make sure rat would fight and do whatever it takes after we lost last game to them earlier in teh week and try to be a physical presence.”

Nimrod Levi got Hapoel Jerusalem off to a hot start, Nuni Omot and Adam Ariel each went from deep, Chris Johnson dunked and Carrington went from deep to bump the lead up to double digits but baskets by Omot, Yahel Melamed and Karam Mashour cut the score down to 24-20 after ten minutes of play.

Mashour continued with his scoring spree, Speedy Smith and Johnson both dialled up long distance, Itay Moskovits put in a 3-point play, Levi Randolph went from deep, JaCorey Williams put down a pair of monster dunks, Moskovits nailed a corner 3-ball but Randolph and Johnson triples kept the Reds in front 49-41 at halftime.

Williams and Omot traded baskets to begun the third quarter, Levi came back with a 3-point play and Smith went from downtown, Ariel did the exact same, Malemed put in back-to-back layups, Noam Dovrat went from beyond the arc and then off the glass and Carrington went from deep as Alon Yonatan’s team stayed ahead 70-63 after thirty minutes of action.

Melamed opened the fourth quarter with points, Williams scored inside and then put down an alley-oop, Zoosman and Randolph went from deep, Ariel and Melamed came back with points, Dovrat nailed a corner 3-ball and Williams continued his air show to help the reds wrap up the win.

Hapoel Afula downed Nes Ziona 85-74 as Roie Perel’s team broke teh game open in the seine quarter after a tight first period to pick the win. Marcellus Earlington scored 21 points, Noam Avivi added 17 points and Spencer Weisz scored 14 points in the win. Yair Kravits and Jerome Meyinsse scored 12 points each in the loss.