By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem never trailed but was late in getting separation on the path to defeating the Bakken Bears, 89-80, Wednesday.
Despite being held to 3/10 from the field, it was certainly a huge contribution by Speedy Smith dishing out a season-high 14 assists in Basketball Champions League Regular Season Gameday 4. Presenting yet another personal best for the 2022-23 season, Zach Hankins poured 22 points making 9/10 two-pointers. Khadeen Carrington matched his own season-high with 20 points. Levi Randolph chipped in 17 more points.
Former Bradley standout Elijah Childs set his season-high at 24 points in the losing effort. Tony Carr went for 19 points, six rebounds, and four assists, and Skyler Bowlin had 11 points, six assists, and three steals. Center Kylor Kelley was not available.
The Denmark champions managed to tie on multiple occasions narrowly falling shy of an actual lead. Lacking execution combined with the experience of the home side and the demanding challenge of visiting Pais Arena, the team coached by Anders Sommer never let go but eventually dropped to 0-4 in Group E.
From its own point of view, sweeping two home-and-away series, part of the double-legged round-robin schedule, the Jerusalem outfit improved to 3-1 and caught MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg on top of the group. Recent addition Brandon Brown did not suit up and Oz Blayzer did not play against the Bears.
Noam Dovrat left the game with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter due to a knee injury. It looked pretty bad, and also stopped momentum in finally building a safer advantage. But the players guided by Aleksandar Dzikic making key plays on both ends down the stretch punched in the seventh win in a row across all competitions. The streak includes defeating Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv and improving to 5-2 in Israel’s Winner League last Sunday.
Postgame press conference:
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League