Hapoel advanced to the cup semi-final!
Hapoel survived a comeback by Be’er Sheva/Dimona on the way to a dramatic 99:96 win. 20 points for Carrington (Photo: Oded Karni, courtesy of the IBBA)
19/01/2025
| 20:50
| Post-Game
Hapoel began tonight (Sunday) its journey to defend the State Cup title, defeating Hapoel Be'er Sheva/Dimona 99:96 in the quarterfinals at the Kirya Arena in Ashdod. The team was better in the first half, during which it reached a peak lead of 17 points near the end, but as in its recent league games, Rami Hadar’s stubborn squad completed another comeback - this time in the third quarter - and even held a six-point lead during the final period. However, in the closing minutes, Yonatan Alon's group - which beat the southern squad in last year’s semifinal - was sharper and more disciplined, scored key points in hustle plays, and secured an important victory - perhaps on the way to a third consecutive title.
The team from the capital enjoyed an excellent offensive night with 74% shooting from two-point range (26/35) and 40% from beyond the arc (10/25), while recording 19 assists against 13 turnovers. Khadeen Carrington led the winners with an almost perfect 20 points (7/8 from the field), Tarik Phillip continued his improvement with 18 points and added four steals, and Jared Harper, though quiet and slightly injured early in the third quarter, finished with 17 points, including two especially important threes in the opening of the last ten minutes. Yovel Zoosman (15 points) and Chris Johnson (10) completed a five-player double-digit scoring lineup, with the captain - not for the first time this season - once again leading his team in plus-minus (+12).
Alon. His team survived the comeback on its way to the semifinal (Photo: Oded Karni, courtesy of the Basketball Association)
Game Flow:
Be’er Sheva/Dimona starting five: Iverson Molinar, Cody Demps, Paul Scruggs, Ido Fleisher, Justin McKoy.
Hapoel starting five: Jared Harper, Tarik Phillip, Yovel Zoosman, Chris Johnson, Justin Smith.
Molinar was the first to score with a mid-range shot, Zoosman put Hapoel on the board, but Be’er Sheva opened well offensively with points from McKoy and another bucket by Molinar, while Harper responded with a corner three to make it 7:6. Scruggs answered with a three of his own, Smith completed an and-one, and Molinar made it 11:10 for his team but also committed a quick second foul and went to the bench. McKoy and Harper traded signature plays before the Jerusalem guard tied it 13:13 from the line. Spencer Weisz slipped in for an easy basket off an inbounds play, Ron Ziffer hit his first points from mid-range, but Phillip and Khadeen Carrington kept things even. McKoy impressed in his red debut with a strong drive, but the two Jerusalemites responded — a three from the first and a tough layup from the second - making it 22:19. McKoy cut the lead with two from the line, Carrington answered with an and-one, but the excellent forward closed the quarter with an and-one of his own - 25:24 for the visitors.
Alon's group opened the second quarter with a nice fast-break assist from Zoosman to a Johnson and-one, followed by a similar move and a Carrington dunk to make it 32:24. Weisz stopped the run with a big three, but Zoosman answered with a tough buzzer-beater three, and in between, Scruggs picked up his fourth foul (!). The cup holders opened a double-digit lead with a Carrington triple, and a Smith dunk made it 40:27, sending Rami Hadar to the scorers’ table for a timeout. Even that didn’t slow the momentum, with Zoosman adding four straight points to push the lead to 17 with just under five minutes to the half. Ziffer hit from deep and doubled the southern team’s points in the quarter, but Gabi Chachashvili answered with one of his own, before McKoy drove in to cut it to 47:32. Koulechov and Molinar traded twos, Ziffer hit another from deep, but Phillip and Chachashvili maintained a steady lead with inside buckets. McKoy nailed his first three, Molinar also connected from long range and cut it to ten, before Koulechov ended the half at 55:43 for the capital squad.
Smith. Hapoel pulled away in the second quarter (Photo: Oded Karni, courtesy of the Basketball Association)
The southern squad opened the second half with five straight points - an and-one from Molinar and a drive from Eyorio cut the deficit to just seven, before Harper hit one from the line. The Panamanian guard added a mid-range shot and assisted McKoy, who also followed up a miss to make it 56:54. The visiting coach called timeout, and his team responded with a Carrington layup and a Phillip three to stretch the lead to seven again, but Molinar drove in for another bucket to make it 61:56. Ziffer was left open for three and made it a three-point game, Phillip answered with a big three as the shot clock expired, but Eyorio responded in kind, before Ziffer set up Demps for an easy basket, and McKoy completed the comeback with a put-back to give the hosts a 66:65 lead. Ziffer again assisted McKoy, Morgan scored a field goal to stop a 9:1 run, but the hosts’ excellent guard closed the quarter with a 70:67 lead.
Harper hit two from the line, but McKoy stayed hot with another three. Carrington slashed through the defense to cut the lead in half, but Ziffer again connected from deep - this time with a foul - making it 77:71. Harper cut the lead with a three, Eyorio responded with a soft drive, but the point guard nailed another three. The pace stayed high with an Eyorio assist to Ziffer, Phillip answered with a nice move, but Molinar nailed a tough triple to make it 84:79. Zoosman completed an and-one, but the Panamanian guard answered with another three despite good defense. Phillip dunked to cut it to three, Demps hit a huge three to double the lead, but Johnson responded with a corner triple to make it 90:87 with four minutes to go. The veteran forward grabbed an offensive board for a tough bucket to cut it to one, Weisz responded with a nice drive, and Phillip hit one from the line. Molinar drove in again to make it a four-point lead, but Carrington answered with a layup and Zoosman converted an and-one to give Hapoel a 95:94 lead with 39 seconds left. Demps failed to inbound after a timeout and committed a crucial turnover, Carrington drove all the way to the rim to restore a three-point lead with 19 seconds to go, before Hapoel sent Demps to the line. The guard hit both, Harper replied with two of his own, and Ziffer’s tying attempt was blocked by Johnson - Hapoel wins 99:96 and advances to the State Cup semifinal.
Scorers for Be'er Sheva:
McKoy 27 (9/12 2pt, 2/2 3pt, 10 rebounds), Molinar 26 (8/15 2pt, 3/7 3pt), Ziffer 19 (3/4 2pt, 4/7 3pt), Weisz (8 assists) and Eyorio 7 each, Scruggs (10 minutes) and Demps (2/9 FG) 5 each. Also played: Fleischer.
Scorers for Hapoel:
Carrington 20 (6/6 2pt, 5 assists), Phillip 18 (4/7 2pt, 3/5 3pt), Harper 17 (1/5 2pt, 3/7 3pt, 6 assists), Zoosman 15 (5/6 2pt, 1/5 3pt, 8 rebounds), Johnson 10 (3/3 2pt, 5 rebounds), Chachashvili 6 (1/1 2pt), Smith 5, Koulechov 4, Morgan 2
The team from the capital enjoyed an excellent offensive night with 74% shooting from two-point range (26/35) and 40% from beyond the arc (10/25), while recording 19 assists against 13 turnovers. Khadeen Carrington led the winners with an almost perfect 20 points (7/8 from the field), Tarik Phillip continued his improvement with 18 points and added four steals, and Jared Harper, though quiet and slightly injured early in the third quarter, finished with 17 points, including two especially important threes in the opening of the last ten minutes. Yovel Zoosman (15 points) and Chris Johnson (10) completed a five-player double-digit scoring lineup, with the captain - not for the first time this season - once again leading his team in plus-minus (+12).
Alon. His team survived the comeback on its way to the semifinal (Photo: Oded Karni, courtesy of the Basketball Association)
Game Flow:
Be’er Sheva/Dimona starting five: Iverson Molinar, Cody Demps, Paul Scruggs, Ido Fleisher, Justin McKoy.
Hapoel starting five: Jared Harper, Tarik Phillip, Yovel Zoosman, Chris Johnson, Justin Smith.
Molinar was the first to score with a mid-range shot, Zoosman put Hapoel on the board, but Be’er Sheva opened well offensively with points from McKoy and another bucket by Molinar, while Harper responded with a corner three to make it 7:6. Scruggs answered with a three of his own, Smith completed an and-one, and Molinar made it 11:10 for his team but also committed a quick second foul and went to the bench. McKoy and Harper traded signature plays before the Jerusalem guard tied it 13:13 from the line. Spencer Weisz slipped in for an easy basket off an inbounds play, Ron Ziffer hit his first points from mid-range, but Phillip and Khadeen Carrington kept things even. McKoy impressed in his red debut with a strong drive, but the two Jerusalemites responded — a three from the first and a tough layup from the second - making it 22:19. McKoy cut the lead with two from the line, Carrington answered with an and-one, but the excellent forward closed the quarter with an and-one of his own - 25:24 for the visitors.
Alon's group opened the second quarter with a nice fast-break assist from Zoosman to a Johnson and-one, followed by a similar move and a Carrington dunk to make it 32:24. Weisz stopped the run with a big three, but Zoosman answered with a tough buzzer-beater three, and in between, Scruggs picked up his fourth foul (!). The cup holders opened a double-digit lead with a Carrington triple, and a Smith dunk made it 40:27, sending Rami Hadar to the scorers’ table for a timeout. Even that didn’t slow the momentum, with Zoosman adding four straight points to push the lead to 17 with just under five minutes to the half. Ziffer hit from deep and doubled the southern team’s points in the quarter, but Gabi Chachashvili answered with one of his own, before McKoy drove in to cut it to 47:32. Koulechov and Molinar traded twos, Ziffer hit another from deep, but Phillip and Chachashvili maintained a steady lead with inside buckets. McKoy nailed his first three, Molinar also connected from long range and cut it to ten, before Koulechov ended the half at 55:43 for the capital squad.
Smith. Hapoel pulled away in the second quarter (Photo: Oded Karni, courtesy of the Basketball Association)
The southern squad opened the second half with five straight points - an and-one from Molinar and a drive from Eyorio cut the deficit to just seven, before Harper hit one from the line. The Panamanian guard added a mid-range shot and assisted McKoy, who also followed up a miss to make it 56:54. The visiting coach called timeout, and his team responded with a Carrington layup and a Phillip three to stretch the lead to seven again, but Molinar drove in for another bucket to make it 61:56. Ziffer was left open for three and made it a three-point game, Phillip answered with a big three as the shot clock expired, but Eyorio responded in kind, before Ziffer set up Demps for an easy basket, and McKoy completed the comeback with a put-back to give the hosts a 66:65 lead. Ziffer again assisted McKoy, Morgan scored a field goal to stop a 9:1 run, but the hosts’ excellent guard closed the quarter with a 70:67 lead.
Harper hit two from the line, but McKoy stayed hot with another three. Carrington slashed through the defense to cut the lead in half, but Ziffer again connected from deep - this time with a foul - making it 77:71. Harper cut the lead with a three, Eyorio responded with a soft drive, but the point guard nailed another three. The pace stayed high with an Eyorio assist to Ziffer, Phillip answered with a nice move, but Molinar nailed a tough triple to make it 84:79. Zoosman completed an and-one, but the Panamanian guard answered with another three despite good defense. Phillip dunked to cut it to three, Demps hit a huge three to double the lead, but Johnson responded with a corner triple to make it 90:87 with four minutes to go. The veteran forward grabbed an offensive board for a tough bucket to cut it to one, Weisz responded with a nice drive, and Phillip hit one from the line. Molinar drove in again to make it a four-point lead, but Carrington answered with a layup and Zoosman converted an and-one to give Hapoel a 95:94 lead with 39 seconds left. Demps failed to inbound after a timeout and committed a crucial turnover, Carrington drove all the way to the rim to restore a three-point lead with 19 seconds to go, before Hapoel sent Demps to the line. The guard hit both, Harper replied with two of his own, and Ziffer’s tying attempt was blocked by Johnson - Hapoel wins 99:96 and advances to the State Cup semifinal.
Scorers for Be'er Sheva:
McKoy 27 (9/12 2pt, 2/2 3pt, 10 rebounds), Molinar 26 (8/15 2pt, 3/7 3pt), Ziffer 19 (3/4 2pt, 4/7 3pt), Weisz (8 assists) and Eyorio 7 each, Scruggs (10 minutes) and Demps (2/9 FG) 5 each. Also played: Fleischer.
Scorers for Hapoel:
Carrington 20 (6/6 2pt, 5 assists), Phillip 18 (4/7 2pt, 3/5 3pt), Harper 17 (1/5 2pt, 3/7 3pt, 6 assists), Zoosman 15 (5/6 2pt, 1/5 3pt, 8 rebounds), Johnson 10 (3/3 2pt, 5 rebounds), Chachashvili 6 (1/1 2pt), Smith 5, Koulechov 4, Morgan 2
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