Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv got what will be a tough week off to the right start with an 89-72 victory over cross-town rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv. Pargo led five players in double figures with 17 points and 8 assists. On Thursday the team faces Alba Berlin in the last game of the Euroleague Top 16.
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By Amy Samin
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv got what will be a tough week off to the right start with an 89-72 victory over cross-town rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv at Menora Mivtachim Arena. Jeremy Pargo led five players in double figures with 17 points and 8 assists. MarQuez Haynes added 16 points, Brian Randle scored 15 points, and Jake Cohen contributed 12 points and 8 rebounds. Alex Tyus had an impressive double double, with 11 points and 12 rebounds, not to mention 5 blocks. Prior to the game a moving ceremony was held honoring the memory of the late team manager of Hapoel, Uri Shelef of blessed memory.
Maccabi’s starters were Jeremy Pargo, Devin Smith, Brian Randle, Alex Tyus, and Yogev Ohayon. The opening of the game was close, with points by Tyus and Randle giving Maccabi an early lead, and a steal + dunk by Randle making it 12-9 past the halfway mark. Maccabi’s defense controlled the game, with a string of blocks that prevented Hapoel from finding the basket. A pair of layups and a trey by Pargo and a bucket and one from Sofo Schortsanitis extended Maccabi’s lead to 22-16, but Hapoel was able to cut their deficit to two. A layup by MarQuez Haynes gave the home team a 24-20 lead as the period came to an end.
Hapoel stepped up at the start of the second quarter and tied the score at 26 within three minutes. Points by Smith on the left wing gave the lead back to Maccabi, and two quick scores by Randle (one of which also included a steal) made it 34-30 just past the five minute mark. Haynes added a pair of catch and shoot triples (both off assists by Pargo) to increase Maccabi’s lead to 41-34 with just under two minutes left in the half. A layup by Pargo with :05 on the clock gave Maccabi a double digit lead going into the break, 45-34.
The second half started with a 7-1 run by Hapoel, but a baseline jumper by Randle, Pargo from the top of the arc, and a dunk by Tyus put Maccabi’s lead back in double figures, 53-43 after four minutes. Within two minutes Hapoel had cut that to five, 56-51, and the point difference remained constant until a layup and one by Smith opened things back up. The quarter ended with a three pointer by Jake Cohen that made it 67-55 heading into the final period.
Once again Hapoel showed signs of getting back into the game in the early minutes of the fourth quarter, but two triples by Haynes had Maccabi leading 76-63 halfway through the period. Pargo served up a behind the back dish to Randle and followed it with a three pointer on the left wing to make it 82-63. A slick over the shoulder no look pass by Randle to Cohen in the paint, a putback by Tyus, and Cohen once again from downtown wrapped up the game, and Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeated Hapoel Tel Aviv 89-72 at Menora Mivtachim Arena.
