Hapoel Wins in Be'er Sheva

Hapoel advanced to the Winner Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday evening as Group A winners following a 92-76 victory over Hapoel Be'er Sheva/Dimona at the Conch Arena. The Reds will face the winner of the Play-In game between Bnei Herzliya and Elitzur Netanya in the quarterfinals.

Hapoel scorers: Anthony Lamb 15, Cassius Winston 14, Jared Harper 13, Austin Wiley 11, Roi Huber 10, Yovel Zoosman 9, Dmytro Skapintsev and Nimrod Levi 8 each, Roi Pritzky 4.

Hapoel Be'er Sheva/Dimona scorers: C.J. Elleby 20, Michael Foster Jr. 17, Jalen Tate and Cody Demps 9 each, Neta Segal 7, Amit Gershon 5, Naveh Ben Shaman 4, Akili Vining 3, Sam Iorio 2.

Following Maccabi Rishon LeZion's loss to Maccabi Ramat Gan earlier in the day, both Hapoel teams had already secured their places in the quarterfinals before taking the court, meaning their matchup would determine the final standings in the group.

Yonatan Alon's team ultimately claimed the top spot after completing the group stage with a perfect 3-0 record. Rami Hadar's team, meanwhile, finished 1-2 - the same record as Rishon LeZion and Ramat Gan - creating a three-way tie. Be'er Sheva/Dimona held the best point differential of the three, securing second place in the group.

For Hapoel, Jared Harper and new guard Cassius Winston shared the court for the first time in an official game. While it was clear that their chemistry is still a work in progress, the two also showed the potential of the league finalists' backcourt.

Harper. The Reds' star (Photo: Danny Maron)

Alon. Advanced to the quarterfinals with a perfect record (Photo: Danny Maron)

Be'er Sheva/Dimona started with Tate, Segal, Demps, Elleby and Foster Jr., while Hapoel opened with Harper, Winston, Lamb, Zoosman and Wiley.

It took Yonatan Alon's team some time to settle into the game, with Harper scoring Hapoel's first points only after four minutes of play. But once the Reds found their rhythm, they began to show their superiority over the hosts. Hapoel headed into halftime with a 46-37 lead while holding Be'er Sheva/Dimona to 33.3% shooting from the field.

The course of the game did not change significantly over the 20 minutes of the second half. Be'er Sheva/Dimona managed to cut the deficit to just three early in the third quarter after an Elleby three-pointer, but that was as close as the hosts would get.

Hapoel, without needing to shift into top gear, quickly regained control and went on to secure a 92-76 victory, clinching first place in Group A and a spot in the Winner Cup quarterfinals.

Lamb. Finished as Hapoel's leading scorer (Photo: Danny Maron)

Winston. 14 points in his first game alongside Harper (Photo: Danny Maron)

Zoosman. Next up for Hapoel: the Super Cup against Tel Aviv (Photo: Danny Maron)