Hapoel crushes Lietkabelis!

After taking some time to get into the EuroCup rhythm, Hapoel showed they are here and recorded their first victory of the renewed campaign with a 94-74 win in Lithuania against Lietkabelis. The high margin was achieved with a crushing final quarter of 34-18, where, although the Lithuanians initially tied the game, they found themselves trailing by 20 points at the end. Yovel Zoosman stood out for the Reds, leading a comeback from a double-digit deficit and matching his career-high in Europe with 20 points, including five three-pointers from six attempts. The team enjoyed a total of 12 three-pointers at 48.3%, with Jared Harper finishing as the standout scorer again with 16 points, going 16-17 from the free-throw line.

Game Summary:

Lietkabelis lineup: Oleksandr Koblyar, Mantas Rubštavi?ius, Martins Latišs, Marko Pekarski, Andrea Stipinovi?ius.
Hapoel lineup: Speedy Smith, Jared Harper, Yovel Zoosman, Gabi Chachashvili, Austin Wiley.

Koblyar started the game well, scoring as much as the entire Hapoel team after six minutes and leading the Lithuanians to a double-digit lead. The gap grew to 13 at its peak, but Zoosman, with three three-pointers in the first quarter, helped his team finish the first ten minutes down only 25-18. The Israeli swingman continued to shine at the start of the second quarter, hitting another shot from beyond the arc and adding two more points, bringing his team back into the game. Justin Smith completed the turnaround with an 8-0 run, and although the Lithuanians regained the lead, five consecutive points from Carrington and two more from Zoosman, who reached 16 points in the first half, sent the Reds into halftime with a 44-36 lead.

Carrington gave Hapoel their first double-digit lead returning from the locker rooms. Koblyar and Georgios Kalaitzakis cut the deficit to just three, but Harper and Chris Johnson extended the lead back to eight. The locals did not give up, and led by Dubis Be?kauskas, they closed the gap to just one point. However, a three-pointer from Johnson set the score at 60-56 for Hapoel at the end of the third quarter. The Lithuanians tied the game at the beginning of the final quarter, but a 12-2 run put the visitors back up by double digits. Kalaitzakis managed to reduce the deficit to nine with just over two minutes left, but from that point on, Lietkabelis did not score again, while the guests added ten more points on their way to a resounding 94-74 victory.

Scorers for Lietkabelis: Be?kauskas 13, Koblyar (6 assists) and Kalaitzakis 12 each, Stipinovi?ius 9 (6 rebounds), Pekarski 8 (6 rebounds), Rubštavi?ius 6, Latišs 5, Lipkevi?ius 4, Maldunas 3, Labrinovi?ius 2.

Scorers for Hapoel: Harper 23 (1-6 from three, 16-17 from the line, 5 assists), Zoosman 20 (5-6 from three), Justin Smith 15 (7 rebounds), Johnson 12 (7 rebounds), Speedy Smith (8 assists) and Carrington 9 each, Morgan, Wiley, and Chachashvili 2 each. Cornelius also participated.