Hapoel Opens the League Season with a Win!

Hapoel may have suffered its first European loss last week, but on the domestic front the Reds improved to 7-0 in all competitions on Sunday night - including the Winner Cup and Super Cup - with a 79-65 home victory over Ness Ziona in the opening round of the Israeli League.

The Reds from the capital took control of the game from the start and trailed only once throughout the entire contest, with their biggest run coming in the second half, which they won 45-36. Yonatan Alon's team will travel to Spain on Tuesday, where it will face Manresa in its next EuroCup game.

Picking up right where he left off last season, Jared Harper was once again Hapoel's standout performer. He ran the offense effectively with seven assists and established his dominance in the opening quarter, scoring nearly half of his points in the period.

With Austin Wiley unavailable, Justin Smith was the main scoring threat in the frontcourt - but he wasn't alone. Nimrod Levi also delivered an excellent performance and led Hapoel's run late in the third quarter, while Dmytro Skapintsev battled under the boards and grabbed nine rebounds.

Khadeen Carrington, who has looked sharp since returning from EuroBasket, once again showed how well he fits into the team's system, scoring in double figures for the fourth time in five games.

Hapoel scorers: Jared Harper 17, Justin Smith 15, Khadeen Carrington 11, Nimrod Levi 10, Yovel Zoosman 9, Dmytro Skapintsev 7 (9 rebounds), Roi Pritzky 4, Anthony Lamb, Roi Huber and Cassius Winston 2 each. Nir Perry and Yarin Hasson also played.

Ness Ziona scorers: Casey Shepherd and Desi Rodriguez 16 each, Spencer Weisz 8, Udoka Azubuike (13 rebounds) and T.J. Cline 6 each, Itay Moskovits and Isaiah Whitehead 5 each, Sagi Kamchi 3. Or Tapiro and Atir Talmor also played.

The Reds took advantage of the holiday and filled the stands at Pais Arena (Photo: Bernie Ardov)

Game Recap

Hapoel started with Harper, Carrington, Zoosman, Lamb and Smith, while Ness Ziona opened with Shepherd, Moskovits, Weisz, Rodriguez and Azubuike.

Harper was responsible for nine of Hapoel's first 15 points, helping the Reds build an eight-point lead after just over six and a half minutes. Shepherd kept the visitors within reach with eight points, including two three-pointers, in the opening quarter, which ended with Hapoel leading 22-16.

A Moskovits three-pointer early in the second quarter brought Ness Ziona within one possession, but the Reds responded with an 8-0 run to open their first double-digit lead. A 10-4 run by the visitors closed the gap before halftime, with Hapoel taking a 34-29 advantage into the locker room.

Harper. Led Hapoel in the first half (Photo: Bernie Ardov)

Ness Ziona cut the deficit to just two after the break and kept the game close with a pair of three-pointers, including Shepherd's third of the night. But Zoosman answered with back-to-back threes before Smith completed a 10-2 run to restore Hapoel's double-digit advantage.

Weisz and Rodriguez once again brought Ness Ziona within three, but a 10-1 Hapoel run led by Levi - who scored half of the points during the run - gave the Reds a 63-51 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Hapoel continued to pull away in the fourth, stretching the lead to as many as 19 points. The visitors were unable to cut the deficit back to single digits, as the Reds secured a 79-65 victory at the final buzzer.

Levi. One of the driving forces behind Hapoel's second-half run (Photo: Bernie Ardov)

Carrington and Harper. Two of Hapoel's three leading scorers (Photo: Bernie Ardov)

Zoosman and Paretsky all smiles. Opening the league season with a win (Photo: Bernie Ardov)

Hapoel's players celebrate a seventh consecutive victory in domestic competition (Photo: Bernie Ardov)