Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv lost on the road to Maccabi Bazan Haifa, 68-66. Ohayon led Maccabi’s scorers with 13 points. Hickman scored 12 points and Blu added 10 points.
By Amy Samin
In a tough game that came down to the final seconds, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv was defeated by Maccabi Bazan Haifa, 68-66 at Romema Arena in Haifa. Yogev Ohayon led Maccabi’s scorers with 13 points, Ricky Hickman scored 12 points and David Blu added 10 points.
Maccabi’s starters were Devin Smith, Ricky Hickman, David Blu, Yogev Ohayon and Alex Tyus. Both teams got off to a slow start, but the hosts succeeded in building a 5-1 lead. Maccabi closed to within two, 7-5, but a run by Haifa gave them a 12-5 lead halfway through the period. Haifa continued to find the basket while Maccabi struggled, and five points by Tyrese Rice didn’t help much. The quarter ended with Haifa leading 18-10.
Haifa extended their lead to twelve early in the second period, but points by Blu, Ohayon (assist Sofo),and Sofo from the foul line made it 24-17 at the five minute mark. Maccabi’s defense did a better job of shutting Haifa down, while Tyus (assist Ohayon), Pnini and Ohayon all scored to put Maccabi within one as the half ended, 26-25.
Maccabi took their first lead of the game on a dunk by Tyus in the opening seconds of the third quarter, but Haifa quickly reclaimed the advantage with points by Roth and Randle, 31-27 after a minute and a half. Joe Ingles, Smith and Ohayon scored to reclaim the lead, but the game stayed close and Maccabi led by only one at the midway point, 36-35. A pair of buckets gave Haifa back the lead, but Blu on the right wing and Sofo in the paint (assist Blu) put Maccabi back on top. In one of the best plays of the game, Tyus stole the ball and sent a behind the back pass to Oyahon, who fed Hickman for the bucket. Blu and Hickman added more points to put Maccabi’s lead into double digits, 50-40 as the quarter ended.
Haifa begin chipping away at their deficit as the fourth quarter got underway, and had closed to 52-48 after less than three minutes. Maccabi extended their lead to 59-52 after points by Smith, Sofo and Ohayon, but then the hosts went on a 10-0 scoring run that put them on top 62-59 with two minutes left in the game. Blu scored another trey (assist Pnini) to tie the score at 62, and Pnini added a bucket of his own, but the hosts responded and in the end Maccabi Bazan Haifa defeated Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 68-66.
