After already trailing by 18 points and leading for the first time only in the middle of the third quarter, Hapoel Tel Aviv recorded a 71:81 victory with a lot of character over Hapoel Gilboa/Galil tonight (Saturday) at Gan Ner as part of the 13th round of the Winner Basket League.
The Reds saw the leader of the table start the game wildly, with seven of seven from beyond the arc, and a great evening from Peyton Willis with 30 points, but Danny Franco brought on JP Tokoto, and it started a great struggle that ended in a second consecutive victory in the league of the visitor.
The aforementioned loser started the game in a frenzy when she scored 51 points in the half, but the percentages balanced out and she stopped at only 19 points in the entire second half, thanks in large part to the good defense of the runner-up. Beyond Tokuto, Jacoben Brown flirted with a triple-double, when he recorded 11 points, nine assists and six rebounds.
Scored for Hapoel Gilboa/Galil: Peyton Willis 30 points, Justin Gorham 11, Chad Brown 8, Rashard Odoms and Trey McLean 7 points, Tsuf Ben Moshe 5 and Amit Ziss 3.
Scored for Hapoel Tel Aviv: Jordan McRae 20 points, JP Tokoto and Jacob Brown 11 points, Jaylen Hurd and Bar Timur 9 points, Tomer Ginat 7 points, Idan Zalmanson and Xavier Manford 6 points and Gil Benny 2.
First quarter: 18:30 Hapoel Gilboa/Galil
The Hapoel Gilboa/Galil quintet: Peyton Willis, Justin Gorham, Tsuf Ben Moshe, Trey McLean and Chad Brown.
The Hapoel Tel Aviv Quintet: Xavier Manford, Jaylen Hurd, Tomer Ginath, Jordan McRae and Jacob Brown.
Trey McLean got the game started with a 3-pointer on one end, but McCray immediately responded on the other end with a 3-pointer of his own. An excellent start by the Northerners when Gorham scored from the paint and Willis scored 3:10 beyond the arc. Willis added another 3-pointer, Brown blocked Hurd and Tsof Ben Moshe finished a burst on the other side, which forced Franco’s first timeout of the game.
The electrifying opening continued when Willis made it five from five to three (!) after less than six minutes of play, and Franco took another time out when he was behind 24:8, after which he made three substitutions. After Gorham and Ben Moshe added another three-pointer each and made it seven from seven to three, Ziss came off the bench and scored the first miss from beyond the arc. The Reds closed the quarter with a six-zero run that established a 12 “only” advantage to lock the table.
Second quarter: 44:52 to Hapoel Gilboa/Galil
McRae and Zalmanson had already reduced the score to ten twice, but Ziss with a three-pointer and Odoms with a basket and a foul calmed down the hosts. Another Gilboa/Galil and one and one, this time by Willis, raised the guard to 14 points after less than a quarter and a half and made it 24:41 for his team, until Jacoben Brown answered with three points on the other side. Brown stole, Tokoto finished a burst to cut the lead to ten and Goni Yezraeli took his first timeout of the game.
Tokoto with a big dunk and another penetration, Benny under the basket and Ginat after an offensive rebound closed a 2:8 run and reduced the gap to single digits with 39:46 for the North and Yezraeli again to take a timeout. Timur closed the quarter with a three-pointer of his own and the gap was again only single digits.
Third quarter: 64:66 to Hapoel Tel Aviv
The difference decreased in a minute and a half to only three, when Hurd scored one of two from the line, but took his own rebound and scored in the paint, in addition to McCray’s dunk in a burst, forcing a very fast timeout by Yezraeli, from which Willis returned with a quick three-pointer that raised him to 24 points. McRae and Manfrod penetrated the basket and tied the game at Gan Ner for the first time since the beginning of the first quarter, when Horad immediately after gave Hapoel Tel Aviv the first advantage of the game with 59:61. A McCray basket and foul continued the big quarter for the Reds, but Odoms calmed down with an and-one of his own on the other end and Willis tied the game, but Timur closed the quarter with a small lead for his team.
Fourth quarter: 71:81 to Hapoel Tel Aviv
McRae hit two from the line to open the quarter, with Willis adding 29 points with his number seven 3-pointer. A big blow to the host, when Willis was injured and received treatment on the sidelines of the game, but the Reds did not take advantage of the few minutes without him and the guard returned to the floor five minutes to the end. A big steal by Ginat prevented the Northerners from reducing the gap to a point, and on the other end allowed McCray to increase the gap to five with two of three from the line. Ginat scored two from the line, Willis scored one of two and Jacob Brown closed the story with a clutch 3-pointer that made it 69:78 for his team.
