Thanks to a dominant fourth quarter, the Israeli champions made an additional step towards securing home-court advantage in the playoffs, opening a three-game lead at the top of the standings. Dorsey led the Yellow & Blue scorers with 20. Thursday: State Cup Finals
Tyler Dorsey knocked down five of eight three-pointers for a total of 20 points, Scottie Wilbekin contributed 17 points and 6 rebounds as Angelo Caloiaro (3 steals) and Ante Zizic (7 rebounds) each added 14 points. Othello Hunter (8 rebounds) and Omri Casspi (6 assists) were significant in the win scoring 8 points apiece.
Game Recap:
Maccabi started with Scottie Wilbekin, Yovel Zoosman, Angelo Caloiaro, Omri Casspi, and Ante Zizic, while Ariel Beit Halachmi opened the contest with Joe Ragland, Casey Prather, Ben Carter, Markel Brown, and Josh Nibo.
Wilbekin knocked down a side step mid-range jumper for the Yellow & Blue’s first points of the evening, and Calioaro added 6 six points, but Ragland led Eilat’s offense dishing an assist to Prather, who drilled a corner triple and added 9 consecutive points with multiple layups, 10:14 midway through the quarter.
Giannis Sfairopoulos’s squad locked in defensively, stopping the southern side scoreless for the rest of the quarter. Offensively, Casspi started the 16 unanswered point stretch finding Zoosman for a corner three, later added a two-handed slam and Zizic putback slam sent the visitors to a timeout. Zizic added 4 more points in the paint giving the hosts a 26:14 advantage after 10 minutes.
Othello Hunter came off the bench, grabbed an offensive board, and laid two in as Jonathan Skjoldebrand stopped the stretch with a three-pointer. John DiBartolomeo beat the shot clock with a circus floater shot, and Tyler Dorsey added his first points of the night from deep, 35:21.
Prather’s and one woke up Eilat, who went on a 10:0 run after Ragland drilled a deep three, and Carter laid in two, 35:31. Wilbekin scored 5 points preventing a turnaround, while Ragland added another triple and dished an alley-oop pass to Nibo, who slammed it hard. Casspi closed out the half with a post-up bucket, 44:41.
Nibo slammed another alley-oop pass, and Prather gave Eilat the lead with a mid-range jumper, but Zizic, with back-to-back points inside, regained the 3 point edge. The two sides exchanged the advantage as Wilbekin and Dorsey led Maccabi with shots from behind the arc as Prather shot in five straight buckets in the paint, 59:57.
Hunter recovered an offensive board to two points, and Wilbekin came in for the final play of the quarter and floated in two, keeping a 4 point margin heading into the last 10 minutes, 63:59.
Caloiaro drew to him two defenders leaving Dorsey open for a warmup three-pointer, and Wilbekin followed with a deep triple and another typical floater opening a double-digit advantage, 71:61. The Yellow & Blue increased the margin as Dorsey heated up, knocking down multiple three-pointers, Caloiaro stole the ball from Prather and converted a three-point possession while adding another bucket under the rim, 84:67.
Oz Blayzer dove for a steal, Caloiaro picked it up and dished a behind-the-back pass to Zizic, who slammed it down with two hands. DiBartolomeo, who was great defensively, added a three-pointer, and Dori Sahar sealed the deal and determined the final score, 95:72.
