By Amy Samin

In Week 4 of the Euroleague season, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv crushed Polish champions Asseco Prokom Gdynia 93-62. Ricky Hickman was named game MVP with 14 points and 6 assists. David Logan added 13 points, Giorgi Shermadini contributed 11 points and 5 rebounds, and Nik Caner-Medley added 10 points and a lot of fight on defense.

Starters for Maccabi were Shawn James, Devin Smith, Ricky Hickman, Nik Caner-Medley and Yogev Ohayon. Maccabi came out strong and fast in the first quarter, jumping to a 6-0 lead in the first three minutes off points by Hickman, Caner-Medley and Ohayon. Points from James and Caner-Medley were followed by two straight threes by David Logan, boosting Maccabi’s lead to 18-9 with three minutes left in the period. James also excelled on defense, pulling down two boards and blocking two shots. Hickman added a trey of his own from the right wing, while Malcolm Thomas and Lior Eliyahu added points in the paint. A drive in the lane by Ohayon wrapped up the quarter with Maccabi leading 27-13.

After a slower start in the second quarter, Maccabi got back on track with a dunk by James (assist Ohayon) and a steal/dunk by Hickman, who went on to add a layup and two from the foul line, making it 35-17 after four minutes of play. James dropped in a floater in the paint, and Ohayon and Logan added points to set the score at 42-25 with three minutes left in the half. Caner-Medley added points from the charity stripe, while Logan’s steal and coast to coast layup was followed by points from Smith. The period ended on a bucket by Smith (assist Ohayon) on the inbounds, and the teams hit the locker rooms for the halftime break with Maccabi up by twenty, 50-30.

Smith and James continued to play well in the third period, taking Maccabi to 59-35 after three minutes. Caner-Medley got cut on the chin while battling on defense, and had to leave the court. Maccabi continued to dominate the game, and the score had reached 61-41 by the middle of the period. Team captain Guy Pnini added a trey from the corner, while Giorgi Shermadini contributed on both offense and defense. The period ended with Maccabi leading 72-47.

Pnini drained a three to kick off the action in the final quarter, and was followed by a trey from Hickman and a long two by Sylven Landesberg in the left corner, 82-54 after three and a half minutes of play. Shermadini added four points to set the score at 86-54 with less than four minutes left in the game. Those remaining minutes belonged to Shermadini and Landesberg, who combined for seven (including a catch and shoot three pointer by Landesberg, assist Pnini) to end the game, giving Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv a 93-62 victory over Asseco Prokom Gdynia.

Coach Blatt: “We played aggressively for the whole forty minutes and this is the result, especially when we play at home before our fantastic supporters. We shot very well with high percentages. I’m happy that we’ve won our fourth straight game in the Euroleague. We want to advance as far as we can in our group so we can advance to the next round.”

BOXSCORE:

Maccabi: Hickman 14 points, 6 assists; Logan 13 points; Shermadini 11 points, 5 rebounds; Caner-Medley 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals; James 8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks; Smith 8 points; Ohayon 8 points; Landesberg 7 points; Pnini and Eliyahu 6 points; Thomas 2 points.