Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Hapoel Jerusalem 94-85 late Sunday night at Yad Eliyahu, thanks to a huge fourth quarter, to advance to the Israel State Cup final.

The final will take place on Thursday night, also at Yad Eliyahu, where the yellow-and-blue will meet the winner of Monday’s late Bnei Herzliya and Hapoel HaEmek clash.

The Reds had been in control for the majority of the game as Austin Wiley and Khadeen Carrington were crucial for Yonatan Alon’s Jerusalem team, but Jeff Dowtin and Roman Sorkin kept Oded Katash’s squad in the game.

In the second half, Yovel Zoosman and Jared Harper helped Hapoel build up an almost double-digit lead, but Jimmy Clark, Jaylen Hoard, and Gur Lavy were able to overcome the deficit to take the victory.

Sorkin scored 20 points, Dowtin added 19 points, and Clark put in 16 points for Maccabi in the win, while Carrington scored 22 points to lead Jerusalem, Wiley scored 17 points, and Harper chipped in with 13 points in the loss.

A delighted Katash spoke about the win.

“I’m very happy and proud of how we were able to handle some of the issues we had during the game. We were able to really make it through this game, and we kept it close by halftime, which isn’t something I would have taken for granted. There are no favorites, and we didn’t come into this game in the best shape with so many injuries, and Jerusalem always seems to play well here with confidence.”

Alon spoke about the defeat and when the game started to slip away.

“I felt that Maccabi were starting to hit their shots in the fourth quarter, scored cheap points, and grabbed rebounds as well as hustled. Maccabi Tel Aviv is a great team, and their players made the plays.”

Dowtin also reflected on the win.

“My preparation is always the same, as is my confidence. There are things you can’t control, and I work out to stay ready to go.”

Jerusalem’s Isaiah Mobley commented on the loss, “They outhustled us and had extra possessions on the rebounds down the stretch, and we needed to be better on the glass, and we could have walked out with the win. We have to be better going forward.”

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