Seventh in a row: Hapoel defeats Afula!
Hapoel struggled a bit against Afula but overcame them 78:80 thanks to a huge night by Harper, who scored 28 points (Photo: Danny Maron)
16/11/2024
| 20:50
| Post-Game
Despite an 0:12 run by Afula in the last quarter - Hapoel won tonight against Afula after managing to turn the score around with two clutch threes by Jared Harper in the last minute. The point guard, who leads the league in points per minute, finished a huge night with season highs of 28 points and six threes at 75%, plus a typical 8/9 from the free-throw line. This is the third time in the last four league games that the point guard has scored 22 points or more, and tonight he also improved his season high in efficiency rating with 32 points.
Also reaching double figures were Jeremy Morgan, who added five rebounds and three steals but also had some hair-raising misses, and Derek Ogbeide - who finished 4/4 from the field. The cup holders indeed hit 11 threes at 38 percent, but if you remove Harper from that number, the rest of the players made only five out of 21 shots from beyond the arc. The five Israeli players of the red squad, who faced the man who will coach them next week in the Israeli national team, recorded a less than accurate night to say the least, with a combined 26 points on 8/28 shooting, with Khadeen Carrington responsible for 2/11 of those shots, in a quiet eight-point night.
The red crowd kicks off the week (Photo: Danny Maron)
Game flow:
Hapoel starting five: Noam Dovrat, Khadeen Carrington, Yovel Zoosman, Chris Johnson, Gabi Chachashvili.
Afula starting five: Jalen Lecque, Eyal Harel, Sandy Cohen, Justin Mats, JP Tokoto.
Lecque was the first to get on the board with a drive and two points, Johnson tied it with two free throws. Mats completed a nice play in the paint over Chachashvili, added a nice assist to Cohen’s free throw dunk, and one more to Tokoto after an offensive rebound. Harper hit his first three, and along with points from Carrington at the line, cut it to 7:8. Arman Franklin came off the bench and hit a mid-range shot, while on the other side Harper kept entering the game with two free throws and an assist to Johnson - who gave the reds the first lead. Jeremy Morgan stole and ran coast to coast to finish with a layup, and Ariel Beit Halachmi called a timeout when his team was down 14:10. Tokoto cut with a basket in the paint before Harper found Derek Ogbeide for a dunk with a wonderful pass. Franklin completed a tough play at the end of the shot clock, but the Jerusalem point guard kept being everywhere with another precise three before Muriel Lotati hit two free throws to cut it to 18:20 at the end of the first quarter.
Dovrat. Again started in Jonathan Alon's starting five (Photo: Danny Maron)
Harper continued his hot streak with a third three from almost the same spot, while on the other side Franklin stole from Chachashvili and ran all the way for a layup. The Jerusalem center “repaid the debt” with a nice assist to a corner three by Zoosman, but Afula stayed close with another play by Franklin who ran faster than anyone else on the court, plus a nice basket by Cohen. Both teams struggled offensively in those minutes, as Afula forced turnovers on one side but missed easy chances on the other. Morgan woke up and nailed two consecutive threes from both corners for the Jerusalemites, while in between Lecque floated for a beautiful layup. Franklin, in excellent minutes, scored five points off two nice passes from Lotati, while Harper and Ogbeide combined twice for four points by the big man. The visitors were sharper in the last minute before halftime, Harel stole and ran for a tough basket on the other side, and Lotati again found Franklin for two points at the buzzer - 37:38 to Hapoel at halftime.
Carrington tries to drive against Lecque (Photo: Danny Maron)
The visitors came back sharp from the locker room and started the third quarter with a steal and basket by Lecque, who together with a free throw by Mats regained the lead. The reds responded with points from Harper and a nice play between Carrington and Ogbeide, which ended with points by the big man. Lecque and Harper exchanged free throws, after which Dovrat hit his first field goal but was answered by a basket and foul from a tough play by Lecque. Lotati stole the ball and found Harel for points under the basket, Dovrat replied with a long-range shot, but the Afula point guard kept feeding his teammates with passes to the basket, this time benefiting Mats, who put his team up 49:50. From there Jonathan Alon's squad tightened the defense and started to take control - it started with Johnson finishing in the paint, added a steal after that, and ended with Dovrat who kept heating up with another precise three. Beit Halachmi called a timeout from which Mats returned with a particularly impressive dunk, but the reds answered with a nice basket by Carrington in the paint, continued with Chachashvili finding Ogbeide with a smart pass, and finished with four points from the line - by Harper and Zoosman - to end the third quarter with a double-digit lead, 53:63, after a 3:14 run.
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Zoosman. Closed the quarter with a double-digit lead (Photo: Danny Maron)
Beit Halachmi’s squad knew it had to recover before the game started to escape, and opened the last quarter with four straight points by Franklin and Tokoto, from two smart passes by Mats and Lecque respectively. Harper hit an important three from a very long distance near the end of the shot clock, while Lecque answered with a similar move on the other side and scored his team’s second three of the game. Franklin finished a play in the paint with a lot of determination, but Chachashvili answered with a dunk on the other side from a pass by Or Cornelius, who added points from mid-range, and together with a basket by Carrington brought Hapoel back to a double-digit lead, 62:72. Afula refused to surrender and cut the gap in half, as Lotati found Gilad Levy for a wonderful alley-oop, and Lecque added three free throws. After several possessions in which both teams failed to score, including some hair-raising misses, Lecque finished a huge play with a basket and foul, cutting the score to 70:72, and then added an assist to Franklin who tied the game. Even Jonathan Alon's timeout couldn’t cool Lecque down, who kept dazzling with athletic moves as he switched hands in the air on his way to an Afula lead, while the reds were still stuck without points for more than four minutes. Jared Harper ended Afula’s 0:12 run with a three that brought the lead back to Hapoel, and another one on the buzzer of the shot clock that electrified the arena and set the score at 74:78. Levy scored two points and cut it, Carrington stood strong under pressure and made two free throws, before the big man cut it again but no further - 78:80 to Hapoel at the end of a particularly tense game.
Harper celebrates an important three (Photo: Danny Maron)
Scorers for Hapoel: Harper 28, Morgan and Ogbeide 10 each, Dovrat 9, Carrington 8, Johnson 6, Zoosman 5, Cornelius and Chachashvili 2 each.
Scorers for Afula: Franklin 24, Lecque 22, Tokoto and Levy 8 each, Mats 7, Harel 4, Cohen 3, Lotati 2 (7 assists). Also participated: Elber.
Also reaching double figures were Jeremy Morgan, who added five rebounds and three steals but also had some hair-raising misses, and Derek Ogbeide - who finished 4/4 from the field. The cup holders indeed hit 11 threes at 38 percent, but if you remove Harper from that number, the rest of the players made only five out of 21 shots from beyond the arc. The five Israeli players of the red squad, who faced the man who will coach them next week in the Israeli national team, recorded a less than accurate night to say the least, with a combined 26 points on 8/28 shooting, with Khadeen Carrington responsible for 2/11 of those shots, in a quiet eight-point night.
The red crowd kicks off the week (Photo: Danny Maron)
Game flow:
Hapoel starting five: Noam Dovrat, Khadeen Carrington, Yovel Zoosman, Chris Johnson, Gabi Chachashvili.
Afula starting five: Jalen Lecque, Eyal Harel, Sandy Cohen, Justin Mats, JP Tokoto.
Lecque was the first to get on the board with a drive and two points, Johnson tied it with two free throws. Mats completed a nice play in the paint over Chachashvili, added a nice assist to Cohen’s free throw dunk, and one more to Tokoto after an offensive rebound. Harper hit his first three, and along with points from Carrington at the line, cut it to 7:8. Arman Franklin came off the bench and hit a mid-range shot, while on the other side Harper kept entering the game with two free throws and an assist to Johnson - who gave the reds the first lead. Jeremy Morgan stole and ran coast to coast to finish with a layup, and Ariel Beit Halachmi called a timeout when his team was down 14:10. Tokoto cut with a basket in the paint before Harper found Derek Ogbeide for a dunk with a wonderful pass. Franklin completed a tough play at the end of the shot clock, but the Jerusalem point guard kept being everywhere with another precise three before Muriel Lotati hit two free throws to cut it to 18:20 at the end of the first quarter.
Dovrat. Again started in Jonathan Alon's starting five (Photo: Danny Maron)
Harper continued his hot streak with a third three from almost the same spot, while on the other side Franklin stole from Chachashvili and ran all the way for a layup. The Jerusalem center “repaid the debt” with a nice assist to a corner three by Zoosman, but Afula stayed close with another play by Franklin who ran faster than anyone else on the court, plus a nice basket by Cohen. Both teams struggled offensively in those minutes, as Afula forced turnovers on one side but missed easy chances on the other. Morgan woke up and nailed two consecutive threes from both corners for the Jerusalemites, while in between Lecque floated for a beautiful layup. Franklin, in excellent minutes, scored five points off two nice passes from Lotati, while Harper and Ogbeide combined twice for four points by the big man. The visitors were sharper in the last minute before halftime, Harel stole and ran for a tough basket on the other side, and Lotati again found Franklin for two points at the buzzer - 37:38 to Hapoel at halftime.
Carrington tries to drive against Lecque (Photo: Danny Maron)
The visitors came back sharp from the locker room and started the third quarter with a steal and basket by Lecque, who together with a free throw by Mats regained the lead. The reds responded with points from Harper and a nice play between Carrington and Ogbeide, which ended with points by the big man. Lecque and Harper exchanged free throws, after which Dovrat hit his first field goal but was answered by a basket and foul from a tough play by Lecque. Lotati stole the ball and found Harel for points under the basket, Dovrat replied with a long-range shot, but the Afula point guard kept feeding his teammates with passes to the basket, this time benefiting Mats, who put his team up 49:50. From there Jonathan Alon's squad tightened the defense and started to take control - it started with Johnson finishing in the paint, added a steal after that, and ended with Dovrat who kept heating up with another precise three. Beit Halachmi called a timeout from which Mats returned with a particularly impressive dunk, but the reds answered with a nice basket by Carrington in the paint, continued with Chachashvili finding Ogbeide with a smart pass, and finished with four points from the line - by Harper and Zoosman - to end the third quarter with a double-digit lead, 53:63, after a 3:14 run.
Zoosman. Closed the quarter with a double-digit lead (Photo: Danny Maron)
Beit Halachmi’s squad knew it had to recover before the game started to escape, and opened the last quarter with four straight points by Franklin and Tokoto, from two smart passes by Mats and Lecque respectively. Harper hit an important three from a very long distance near the end of the shot clock, while Lecque answered with a similar move on the other side and scored his team’s second three of the game. Franklin finished a play in the paint with a lot of determination, but Chachashvili answered with a dunk on the other side from a pass by Or Cornelius, who added points from mid-range, and together with a basket by Carrington brought Hapoel back to a double-digit lead, 62:72. Afula refused to surrender and cut the gap in half, as Lotati found Gilad Levy for a wonderful alley-oop, and Lecque added three free throws. After several possessions in which both teams failed to score, including some hair-raising misses, Lecque finished a huge play with a basket and foul, cutting the score to 70:72, and then added an assist to Franklin who tied the game. Even Jonathan Alon's timeout couldn’t cool Lecque down, who kept dazzling with athletic moves as he switched hands in the air on his way to an Afula lead, while the reds were still stuck without points for more than four minutes. Jared Harper ended Afula’s 0:12 run with a three that brought the lead back to Hapoel, and another one on the buzzer of the shot clock that electrified the arena and set the score at 74:78. Levy scored two points and cut it, Carrington stood strong under pressure and made two free throws, before the big man cut it again but no further - 78:80 to Hapoel at the end of a particularly tense game.
Harper celebrates an important three (Photo: Danny Maron)
Scorers for Hapoel: Harper 28, Morgan and Ogbeide 10 each, Dovrat 9, Carrington 8, Johnson 6, Zoosman 5, Cornelius and Chachashvili 2 each.
Scorers for Afula: Franklin 24, Lecque 22, Tokoto and Levy 8 each, Mats 7, Harel 4, Cohen 3, Lotati 2 (7 assists). Also participated: Elber.
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