By Amy Samin

In week 16 of the Israeli Winner Sal League, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv easily defeated tenth-ranked Hapoel Gilboa Galil by a score of 91-56. Nik Caner-Medley was the standout with 19 points and 6 rebounds. Shawn James contributed 15 points (7 of 7 from two point range), and David Logan added 11 points (3 of 4 from three point range). Moran Roth and Yogev Ohayon each handed out six assists. Maccabi finished the game with 10 of 21 (48%) from outside the arc.

Maccabi’s starters were Sylven Landesberg, Yogev Ohayon, Ricky Hickman, Darko Planinic and Nik Caner-Medley. Gilboa came out strong and took an early lead, but Ohayon and Caner-Medley didn’t let them get too far ahead. The pace was slow throughout the period, but with the entrance of Shawn James Maccabi began to dominate. Three straight buckets by James and a dunk by Landesberg (off a slick assist from Ohayon) wrapped up the quarter with Maccabi leading 19-15.

James continued to light up the scoreboard at the start of the second quarter, and Devin Smith added a long stop and pop from the top of the arc to make it 25-17 Maccabi after three minutes of play. Gilboa was able to cut the deficit to five, but Smith, Logan and James led Maccabi on an 18-0 scoring run that put the team from Tel Aviv up 48-25 with seconds remaining in the half. The period ended with the score 53-27.

Maccabi continued to run the show in the third quarter, with Caner-Medley and Guy Pnini in the starring roles. Treys by Caner-Medley and Hickman and a self-putback by Caner-Medley put Maccabi’s lead over thirty, and the period ended with the score 78-43.

The pace slowed down on both ends of the court in the fourth quarter, though Caner-Medley continued to impress with his tenacity and athleticism. Each team scored only thirteen points in the period, and the game ended in a decisive 91-56 victory for Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv over Hapoel Gilboa Galil.

BOXSCORE

Maccabi: Caner-Medley 19 points, 6 rebounds; James 15 points; Logan 11 points; Landesberg 10 points; Pnini 9 points (3 of 3 from three point range); Roth 6 points, 6 assists; Smith, Hickman and Ohayon (6 assists) 5 points each; Planinic 4 points; Segev 2 points.