Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv won their first home game of 2015 in the newly-renamed Menora Mivtachim Arena, defeating Hapoel Eilat in a dramatic 85-83 nail-biter. Pargo and Haynes were outstanding with 27 points each.
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By Amy Samin
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv won their first home game of 2015 in the newly-renamed Menora Mivtachim Arena, defeating Hapoel Eilat in a dramatic 85-83 nail-biter. Jeremy Pargo and MarQuez Haynes were outstanding with 27 points each. Alex Tyus added 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 huge blocks, while Brian Randle pulled down 12 rebounds.
Starters for Maccabi were Brian Randle, Jeremy Pargo, Alex Tyus, Yogev Ohayon, and MarQuez Haynes. Eilat started well and quickly took the lead, while Randle racked up two quick fouls and was replaced by newcomer Joe Alexander. The visitors continued to dominate, claiming a 13-3 lead halfway through the period. A layup and 1 by Pargo was followed by points by Sofo, but Eilat once again opened their lead to double digits, 18-8. A triple by Haynes, a drive by Ohayon, and nice moves in the paint by Sofo kept Maccabi from falling behind, and the period ended with the visitors leading 23-16.
Maccabi looked sharper in the second quarter, as another three pointer by Haynes and points by Sofo cut Maccabi’s deficit to 28-23 after four minutes. Eilat continued to play well, while Haynes, Tyus, and Ohayon scored for Maccabi. With seconds remaining, Tyus tied the score with a putback, but Eilat had time for one last bucket as the buzzer sounded, sending the teams into the break with the visitors up 42-40.
The second half got underway with Eilat once again taking control of the game, reopening their lead to 50-42 in the first three minutes. Haynes, Pargo, and Tyus kept Maccabi in the game, but Eilat kept their cool, cruising to 61-48 as Sofo returned to the bench with four fouls and three minutes left in the period. Eilat hit a string of buckets from downtown and the period ended with the visitors emphatically in the lead, 71-57.
Pargo blew the top off of the game with three straight triples to make it 73-66 in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter. For the next few minutes Eilat couldn’t find the basket, while Tyus, Haynes, and Pargo combined to give Maccabi their first lead in the game since the opening minute, 74-73. Eilat soon responded, but Haynes and Pargo made it 79-76 with less than three minutes remaining. In the end, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv secured an 85-83 victory over Hapoel Eilat in the first home game of 2015, in the newly-named Menora Mivtachim Arena.
