Jared Harper had a starring role as the visitors secured the victory
Jerusalem rallies back to beat Aris, 68-78
Rungtynių ataskaitos
3 Minutė skaityti
Regular Season
Round 4 of 18
Group B
l
w
l
l
w
w
w
l
Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem came away with a 68-78 victory at Aris Midea Thessaloniki in Round 3 of the 2024-25 BKT EuroCup season on Wednesday evening. The visitors got off to a solid start and took a 17-23 lead into the second quarter, but Aris held Jerusalem to 9 points and turned the game around for a 39-32 cushion at halftime. Aris even took a double-digit lead (45-35) midway through the third quarter, but the Israeli side outscored the Greeks 29-46 in the second half. With this win, Jerusalem extended its winning streak to three games and improved its record to 3-1. Meanwhile, Aris dropped to 1-3 following its second home loss.
Jared Harper paired his 14 points with 15 assists, but it was Justin Smith who led Jerusalem in scoring with 18 points. Chris Johnson and Austin Wiley chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively. For the losing side, David DeJulius scored a game-high 30 points, with Vassilis Toliopoulos adding 16.
DeJulius netted Aris’ first 5 points and Landers Nolley scored a layup in transition for a 7-2 lead. Yet, Jerusalem went on a 13-2 surge inspired by Wiley and Johnson, who took his tally to 9 early points and made it 9-15. The hosts responded with buckets from Trey Woodbury and Joshua Roberts but triples from Jeremy Morgan and Kenneth Smith extended Jerusalem’s lead to 13-21. Toliopoulos opened his account with a midrange jumper and D'Moi Hodge scored from inside, but Justin Smith replied with a bucket of his own for a 17-23 cushion after 10 minutes.
DeJulius scored 3 points to open the second quarter before a layup from Eleftherios Bochoridis pulled Aris within 22-25. Jared Harper struggled to find his range in the first 15 minutes, but he produced 5 assists, one of which set up Austin, who made it 22-29. Yet, DeJulius responded with three straight buckets from inside to take his tally to 16 points before a hook from James Banks put Aris in front, 30-29. With the Palais De Sports buzzing, Toliopoulos stepped up and netted the next 7 Aris points before De Julius made 2 of 2 from the line for a 39-32 cushion.
Replicating what he did in the previous two quarters, DeJulius scored Aris’ first points in the third too with a midrange jumper. Then, Nolley and Georgios Gkiouzelis produced one slam each to extend Aris’ lead to 45-35. Yet, Harper completed a three-point play before baskets from Justin Smith and Johnson brought Jerusalem within 47-43. Jerusalem didn’t manage to score a field goal in the last two minutes of the third quarter, but a few made free throws allowed the visitors to trim the deficit to 51-48 heading into the fourth.
Triples from Morgan and Yovel Zoosman put Jerusalem ahead, with Harper reaching 12 assists as he inspired the visitors to a 4-14 run that allowed them to grab a 55-64 lead. Then, Harper nailed his first triple of the night, but Toliopoulos responded with one of his own on the other end to make it 62-69 with 4 minutes to go. But Jerusalem had an extra surge in the closing quarter, with Justin Smith taking his tally to 16 points from the line for a 62-73 cushion that allowed Jerusalem to comfortably see out the game in crunch time.
