By Amy Samin

Barely twenty-four hours after their return from Italy, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv soundly defeated Hapoel U-Net Holon on the road, 100-72 in week seven of the Israeli Winner Sal League. David Logan led Maccabi with 15 points, while Nik Caner-Medley and Lior Eliyahu each contributed 13 points. Maccabi finished the game with a total of 23 assists and 9 blocks!

Starters for Maccabi were Shawn James, Devin Smith, Ricky Hickman, Yogev Ohayon and Lior Eliyahu. In the first two and a half minutes Eliyahu managed to send a dime to Ohayon and score two buckets himself which, along with points by Smith, set the score at 8-4. James got in on the action with a bucket and a block, while three pointers from Hickman (left corner) and Sylven Landesberg (left wing, cross-court assist from Eliyahu) made it 18-11 after six minutes of play. Nik Caner-Medley added a bucket, as did David Logan, and free throws by Malcolm Thomas ended the quarter with Maccabi leading 24-20.

Caner-Medley opened the second quarter with points for Maccabi, and Moran Roth added a steal and basket to make it 29-20. Maccabi’s defense made Holon battle for every rebound and every point, while Roth and Logan scored and Smith drained a three on the right wing to put Maccabi’s lead in double digits, 36-26. Maccabi kept up the intensity while moving the ball well, with Eliyahu, Smith and Thomas all lighting up the scoreboard. Logan added a long three on the left wing to make it 45-33 with two minutes left in the half. Points from the charity stripe by Eliyahu closed out the period, and the teams went into the halftime break with Maccabi up 47-35.

Maccabi continued to play well in the third quarter, with James, Smith and Eliyahu scoring to keep the lead comfortable. A bomb from downtown by Hickman made it 65-46 just past the halfway mark in the period. By the two minute mark the visitor’s lead had grown to twenty, and it remained there at the end of the period, 71-51.

The fourth quarter got underway with points by Roth, who was soon joined by Landesberg and Caner-Medley, who added a steal and dunk to his performance, making it 70-54. Logan added a steal and full-court layup to bring the score to 81-57. A diving putback by Landesberg was followed by points from outside the arc by Logan, and Maccabi’s lead approached thirty with four minutes left in the game. Team captain Guy Pnini and Logan both added threes, while Caner-Medley scored from under the basket and downtown, and Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv strolled away with a 100-72 road victory over Hapoel U-Net Holon in week 7 of the Israeli Winner Sal League.

BOXSCORE

Maccabi: Logan 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals; Caner-Medley and Eliyahu 13 points each; Hickman 12 points; Smith 10 points, 6 rebounds; Landesberg and Roth 8 points each; Thomas 6 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists; Ohayon 6 points, 6 assists; Pnini 5 points; James 4 points, 5 rebounds, 4 blocks.