Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv outlasted Ironi Nahariya 87-73 Sunday in a matchup of the last two undefeated teams in the Israeli League. Maccabi improved to 5-0 and earned sole possession of first place. The round of play proved to be an exciting one as three games went down to the wire. Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem needed a buzzer beater from Ed Cota to beat Givat Shmuel 97-96 for its third win. Michael Johnson drilled a three-pointer with 1.3 seconds remaining to lead Afula/Gilboa to a shocking 86-87 road win over his former team, Hapoel Galil Elyon. Ashkelon limited the previously unstoppable Lee Nailon to 5 points, upsetting the visiting favorites Bnei Hasharon 81-79. Marcus Hatten had 27 points and 5 assists for the winners. Ironi Ramat Gan and new coach Avner Yaor won their second straight over Maccabi Rishon Lezion. 68-74. Jai Lewis led Ramat Gan with 20.
Maccabi ran away from Nahariya in the second half in their game at Nokia Arena. Will Bynum nailed three early shots from downtown to put Maccabi on top 21-12, and the hosts held a 26-21 lead after 10 minutes. Nahariya dominated the second quarter on the way to a surprising 44-45 lead at halftime. Maccabi started the second half with a 9-0 run and quickly took a double-digit lead. Maccabi's defense stepped up and stopped Nahariya on a total of 10 points in the third quarter, on the way to a 65-55 lead. In the last quarter, Lior Eliyahu displayed some flashy moves, preventing Nahariya's Raviv Limonad from mounting a comeback, while Nikola Vujcic got some rest and maybe missed a chance for a second triple double in a row. Eliyahu finished with 21 points, Derrick Sharp scored 17, Vujcic had 16 in addition to 9 assists and 7 rebounds. Bynum also scored 16 – all in the first half – Jaime Arnold added 11 and Simas Jasaitis added 10. Limonad led Nahariya with 17 and Barak Peleg added 11.
Short-handed Hapoel, minus the injured Matan Naor and Tamar Slay, caused some worries among the fans at Malha Arena before collecting another home win. Mario Austin had a perfect first quarter, as Hapoel took a 30-25 lead. Jay Straight with 20 points in the first half, helped Givat Shmuel build an 8-point lead during the second period and hold on for a 44-47 lead at halftime. Austin once again stepped up to put Hapoel back on top, but the visitors stayed close. Dror Hagag made it look easier with a three-pointer that set the score on 86-79 but Givat Shmuel replied with a 0-7 run to tie the score. Cota came off the bench to nail a big three-pointer, but then turned the ball over to allow Boo Davis to finish a fastbreak with a dunk and give Givat a 93-94 lead. Meir Tapiro brought his winning mentality with a turnaround jumper in the last seconds, but it was Tunji Awojobi, who won the ULEB Cup with Hapoel in 2004, who dunked with 13 seconds to go, leaving Jerusalem with one final chance. This time Tapiro missed a tough shot, but Cota grabbed the rebound and as time expired his jumper dropped through the bottom of the net for the 97-96 win. Austin led Hapoel with 26 points, Tapiro and Timmy Bowers –facing his former team – had 16 each, Jurica Golemac scored 13, Guy Pnini 10 and Cota 7. Straight finished with 25 points, Awojobi scored 19 and Davis added 17.