By Amy Samin

With six players scoring in double digits, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv easily defeated Bnei Herzylia 91-73 in an away game. Lior Eliyahu (7 assists, 6 rebounds) and David Logan (5 of 6 from outside the arc) scored 16 points each. Devin Smith had 14 points and Guy Pnini contributed 11. Ricky Hickman and Nik Caner-Medley scored 10 points each. Moran Roth made an impressive 10 assists.

Maccabi's starters were Shawn James, Devin Smith, team captain Lior Eliyahu, Ricky Hickman and Yogev Ohayon. The early minutes of the game were close, with points by Smith, James and Eliyahu matching buckets by the hosts, 6-6 near the halfway mark in the period. Bnei Herzylia took a slight lead, but points from downtown and the paint by David Logan and Darko Planinic gave Maccabi a 14-13 lead with less than two minutes left in the period. The quarter ended with Maccabi still holding a slim lead, 16-15.

Maccabi continued to play well as the second quarter got under way, but the hosts continued to battle. A fastbreak dunk by Nik Caner-Medley made it 22-21 after three and a half minutes. Eight points by Smith (including two treys) in the middle of the period began crafting a cushion for Maccabi, and Caner-Medley and Eliyahu also contributed. The teams went into the halftime break with Maccabi up 38-31.

The second half got underway with yet another three pointer by Smith and a putback by James that put Maccabi's lead at ten, 43-33. Maccabi continued to cruise, with Guy Pnini contributing points from downtown and the paint and Hickman draining two straight threes and a layup to make it 61-42 with three and a half minutes left in the period. Bnei Herzylia continued to fight, but Maccabi was unstoppable, scoring 31 points in the period, which ended with the score 69-56.

The fourth quarter was more of the same, with Maccabi scoring at will and the hosts struggling to close the abyss that had opened up before them. Moran Roth continued to hand out assists as Eliyahu, Pnini, Logan and Hickman scored from all over the court. The game ended on a dunk by Sylven Lansberg, and Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeated Bnei Herzylia 91-73.

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