Hapoel is back in the second place in EuroCup!
Hapoel clinched a playoff spot with a dominant 94-67 win over Bourg in France, and a victory in the final round will secure a direct ticket to the quarterfinals. Harper led the way with 31 points
29/01/2025
| 22:30
| Post-Game
Just a week ago, it seemed that Hapoel was getting into trouble in the race for the EuroCup Playoffs after two straight losses in the competition. But tonight (Wednesday), not only did the team clinch its spot in the next round – with an impressive 94-67 win over Bourg in France that improved its record to 10-7 – it also climbed to second place in Group B. A win in the final round will send it straight to the quarterfinals. The visitors started the game on fire, taking a 20-point lead already in the first quarter. Although the French side managed to cut the gap to single digits in the second, they never truly threatened thanks to a monster night from Jared Harper, who led the team all game long with a dominant 31-point performance. Jonathan Alon’s squad, now in full control of its destiny, can avoid the Round of 16 with a win next week over Türk Telekom in Bulgaria – but before that, they’ll visit Ironi Kiryat Ata this Sunday for Round 16 of the Israeli league.
Hapoel may have lost the rebounding battle 42-36, allowing 27 offensive boards and grabbing only 10 themselves, but in every other aspect they were far superior – most notably shooting 75% from two-point range compared to under 40% by the French. The State Cup holders gave up only three points at the free-throw line out of a possible 25, with Harper once again leading the way in that department as well – scoring nearly half of his points from there, going 14-for-15. After shooting poorly in the loss to Venezia, the Jerusalem point guard bounced back with 4-of-6 from two, 3-of-4 from three, and added four assists. Khadeen Carrington helped with an equal number of assists and 15 points on 5-of-6 from two-point range – more than half of them in the fourth quarter. Justin Smith rounded out the trio of double-digit scorers with 14 points on 70% from two. Chris Johnson was the only one on the team with more than five rebounds, grabbing seven, but overall the Reds won 26-15 on the defensive glass. Hapoel hit just eight three-pointers at 30.8% and committed one turnover for every assist (19:19), while Bourg hit only five threes at a poor 19% and dished just nine assists to 22 turnovers.
Harper: Another monster game
Game Flow:
Hapoel’s Starting Five: Jared Harper, Yovel Zoosman, Jeremy Morgan, Chris Johnson, Justin Smith.
Bourg’s Starting Five: Xavier Castaneda, Joel Ayayi, Adrian Nelson, Jordan Asher, Kevin Kokila.
Hapoel came out blazing, taking a double-digit lead just three and a half minutes into the game as Harper scored half the team’s early points with seven. Johnson and Khadeen Carrington helped push the lead to 20-6, and baskets from Smith and Derek Ogbeide gave Hapoel an impressive 24-9 advantage after one. Or Kornelius made his first appearance since injury early in the second quarter and quickly got on the board. Harper hit a triple to bring the lead back to 20, but Bourg already had 12 offensive rebounds and went on a 14-2 run to cut the deficit to just eight. Smith, Gabi Chachashvili and Tarik Phillip pushed it back to 14. Maxime Salle scored eight of his team’s next ten points to again trim the margin to single digits, but Harper responded by reaching 20 individual points, scoring Hapoel’s last eight of the first half – capped by a four-point play that sent the teams to halftime with the visitors up 45-33.
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Smith soars – a great first half by his team
Nelson cut the gap to 10 early in the third, but Carrington answered with a three, Smith added four straight, and Harper reached 11-for-11 from the line. Asher scored five in a row, but Hapoel went on a 10-1 run including threes from Harper and Phillip to restore an 18-point lead. A three from Brandon Jefferson and free throws by Brandon Paul slightly narrowed the gap, Harper missed a rare free throw, but five more points from him and a Zoosman bucket made it 72-55 heading into the final 10 minutes. Smith started the fourth quarter with four quick points including a thunderous dunk before fouling out. Carrington scored eight of his team’s next 10, and back-to-back threes from Egor Koulechov opened up a game-high 30-point gap. Castaneda and Kokila only reduced the final score to a still very impressive 94-67 win for the Cup holders.
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Phillip – Hapoel climbs to second place in the group
Hapoel Scorers:
Harper 31 (4-6 2pt, 3-4 3pt, 14-15 FT, 4 ast, 4 TO), Carrington 15 (5-6 2pt, 1-5 3pt, 2-2 FT, 4 ast), Smith 14 (7-10 2pt), Phillip 7 (2-2 2pt, 1-3 3pt), Zoosman and Koulechov 6 each (Zoosman 0-6 FG, 6-6 FT, 4 TO; Koulechov 2-2 3pt), Chachashvili and Ogbeide 4 each (2-2 2pt), Morgan 3 (1-5 FG, 0-2 FT, 4 ast), Johnson (1-3 FG, 7 reb, 3 stl) and Kornelius 2 each.
Bourg Scorers:
Salle 16 (6-11 FG, 3-4 FT, 7 reb), Jefferson 10 (2-6 3pt, 4-6 FT), Benitez 9 (4-5 2pt), Kokila 6 (3-7 2pt), Asher (1-5 2pt & 3pt, 5 TO), Nelson (2-5 2pt, 0-4 3pt), Pansa (2-6 2pt), and Paul (1-4 3pt) 5 each, Castaneda 4 (1-5 2pt, 0-4 3pt, 2-4 FT), Ayayi 2 (1-4 2pt, 4 TO). Also played: Korby.
Hapoel may have lost the rebounding battle 42-36, allowing 27 offensive boards and grabbing only 10 themselves, but in every other aspect they were far superior – most notably shooting 75% from two-point range compared to under 40% by the French. The State Cup holders gave up only three points at the free-throw line out of a possible 25, with Harper once again leading the way in that department as well – scoring nearly half of his points from there, going 14-for-15. After shooting poorly in the loss to Venezia, the Jerusalem point guard bounced back with 4-of-6 from two, 3-of-4 from three, and added four assists. Khadeen Carrington helped with an equal number of assists and 15 points on 5-of-6 from two-point range – more than half of them in the fourth quarter. Justin Smith rounded out the trio of double-digit scorers with 14 points on 70% from two. Chris Johnson was the only one on the team with more than five rebounds, grabbing seven, but overall the Reds won 26-15 on the defensive glass. Hapoel hit just eight three-pointers at 30.8% and committed one turnover for every assist (19:19), while Bourg hit only five threes at a poor 19% and dished just nine assists to 22 turnovers.
Harper: Another monster game
Game Flow:
Hapoel’s Starting Five: Jared Harper, Yovel Zoosman, Jeremy Morgan, Chris Johnson, Justin Smith.
Bourg’s Starting Five: Xavier Castaneda, Joel Ayayi, Adrian Nelson, Jordan Asher, Kevin Kokila.
Hapoel came out blazing, taking a double-digit lead just three and a half minutes into the game as Harper scored half the team’s early points with seven. Johnson and Khadeen Carrington helped push the lead to 20-6, and baskets from Smith and Derek Ogbeide gave Hapoel an impressive 24-9 advantage after one. Or Kornelius made his first appearance since injury early in the second quarter and quickly got on the board. Harper hit a triple to bring the lead back to 20, but Bourg already had 12 offensive rebounds and went on a 14-2 run to cut the deficit to just eight. Smith, Gabi Chachashvili and Tarik Phillip pushed it back to 14. Maxime Salle scored eight of his team’s next ten points to again trim the margin to single digits, but Harper responded by reaching 20 individual points, scoring Hapoel’s last eight of the first half – capped by a four-point play that sent the teams to halftime with the visitors up 45-33.
Smith soars – a great first half by his team
Nelson cut the gap to 10 early in the third, but Carrington answered with a three, Smith added four straight, and Harper reached 11-for-11 from the line. Asher scored five in a row, but Hapoel went on a 10-1 run including threes from Harper and Phillip to restore an 18-point lead. A three from Brandon Jefferson and free throws by Brandon Paul slightly narrowed the gap, Harper missed a rare free throw, but five more points from him and a Zoosman bucket made it 72-55 heading into the final 10 minutes. Smith started the fourth quarter with four quick points including a thunderous dunk before fouling out. Carrington scored eight of his team’s next 10, and back-to-back threes from Egor Koulechov opened up a game-high 30-point gap. Castaneda and Kokila only reduced the final score to a still very impressive 94-67 win for the Cup holders.
Phillip – Hapoel climbs to second place in the group
Hapoel Scorers:
Harper 31 (4-6 2pt, 3-4 3pt, 14-15 FT, 4 ast, 4 TO), Carrington 15 (5-6 2pt, 1-5 3pt, 2-2 FT, 4 ast), Smith 14 (7-10 2pt), Phillip 7 (2-2 2pt, 1-3 3pt), Zoosman and Koulechov 6 each (Zoosman 0-6 FG, 6-6 FT, 4 TO; Koulechov 2-2 3pt), Chachashvili and Ogbeide 4 each (2-2 2pt), Morgan 3 (1-5 FG, 0-2 FT, 4 ast), Johnson (1-3 FG, 7 reb, 3 stl) and Kornelius 2 each.
Bourg Scorers:
Salle 16 (6-11 FG, 3-4 FT, 7 reb), Jefferson 10 (2-6 3pt, 4-6 FT), Benitez 9 (4-5 2pt), Kokila 6 (3-7 2pt), Asher (1-5 2pt & 3pt, 5 TO), Nelson (2-5 2pt, 0-4 3pt), Pansa (2-6 2pt), and Paul (1-4 3pt) 5 each, Castaneda 4 (1-5 2pt, 0-4 3pt, 2-4 FT), Ayayi 2 (1-4 2pt, 4 TO). Also played: Korby.
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