D.J. Cooper made a shot from the logo and Ironi Ness Ziona scored 34 points in the fourth quarter to post a 90-84 comeback win over BC Wolves on Wednesday, January 25, at the Lev Hamoshava gym in Ness Ziona, State of Israel.
Players of the game
The very first ENBL game in Israel offered a lightning start, a thundering comeback and, most importantly, a win for passionate Ironi Ness Ziona.
D.J. Cooper once again inspired his teammates and scored six crucial points in the fourth quarter, including a crazy shot from the logo.
Point god had a game high 12 assists.
A Chicago born Ohio star averages 11,8 assists per game.
D.J. Cooper timeline – 10, 11, 13, 13 and 12 assists respectively.
Tomer Levinson scored 8 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter.
In fact, he tied his previous points total in those 10 minutes.
Ronnie Harrell outscored anyone else and had 10 points in the fourth quarter.
Creighton star finished the game with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the game, including a 3-of-4 from the three point land.
Tyler Bey (Colorado) and Shaq Buchanan (Murray State) scored 17 points each.
Adas Juškevičius led BC Wolves with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field.
Shooting guard made 6-of-9 shots from the deep.
Eigirdas Žukauskas also scored 20 ponts, including a 4-of-8 effort from the three point line.
Lithuanian international added six rebounds and two blocks.
Ahmad Caver (Old Dominion) had 16 points.
Wolves point guard contributed with five rebounds and six assists.
Key stats
Ironi Ness Ziona jumped infront for a 7-0 lead.
The Wolves recovered fast with Adas Juškevičius leading the pack, 25-25.
Rimas Kurtinaitis team led for most of the game but its lead never reached the double digits.
The Lithuanians had a seven point advantage before the final frame, 56-63.
Ness Ziona trailed from the deep at that moment, 4-of-15 against 11-of-27.
D.J. Cooper, Tomer Levinson and Ronnie Harrell changed momentum as everyone of them made two three-pointers each.
The hosts were flying in the fourth quarter and outscored the Wolves, 34-21.
BC Wolves outrebounded their opponents, 31-46, offensive rebounds, 6-21.
The guests scored too few second chance points eventually, 8-14.
Game notes
Ironi Ness Ziona improved to 3-2 and is – probably – one win away from the playoffs.
The 2021 FIBA Europe Cup champions offered a great spectacle for their passionate fans.
BC Wolves dropped to 2-2, suffering a second consecutive defeat.
The Lithuanians are booming in the social media – they have 100 000 followers on Facebook four months into the first season.
SCHEDULE (local time only)
Monday, January 23, Tallinn, Kalevi Spordihall (GMT+3h)
BC Kalev/Cramo 73–80 Polski Cukier Start Lublin
Tuesday, January 24, Tallinn, TalTech Spordihoone (GMT+3h)
Šiauliai 67–91 KB Sigal Prishtina
TalTech Optibet 85–104 BC Zielona Gora
Tuesday, January 24, Valmiera (GMT+3h)
Valmiera Glass ViA 83–90 Brno Basket
Wednesday, January 25, Tallinn, TalTech Spordihoone (GMT+3h)
BC Zielona Gora 78–73 Šiauliai
BK Sigal Prishtina 73–91 Tal Tech Optibet
Wednesday, January 25, Ness Ziona (GMT+3h)
Ironi Ness Ziona 90–84 BC Wolves
STANDINGS, as of January 25, 2023
Group A
Budivelnyk Kyiv 4-0 (+56) Qualified
Polski Cukier Start Lublin 4-1 (+44) Qualified
Zastal Zielona Gora 4-2 (+10) Qualified
Kalev/Cramo 2-4 (+19)
KB Sigal Prishtina 2-4 (-34)
Šiauliai 2-3 (-24)
TalTech Optibet 1-5 (-71)
Tie-breaker (1): Kalev/Cramo 1-1, +6; Sigal Prishtina 1-1, +3; Zastal Zielona Gora 1-1, -9.
Tie-breaker (2): Sigal Prishtina 1-1, +13; Kalev/Cramo 1-1, +3; Šiauliai 1-1, -16.
Tie-breaker (3): Sigal Prishtina 2-0, +38; Zielona Gora 0-1, -14; Šiauliai 0-1, -24.
STANDINGS, as of January 25, 2023
Group B
Stal Ostrow 4-1 (+63)
King Szczecin 4-0 (+32)
Ironi Ness Ziona 3-2 (+9)
Trefl Sopot 3-2 (+25)
Tartu University 2-3 (+8)
BC Wolves 2-2 (+22)
Basket Brno 1-4 (-39)
Valmiera Glass VIA 0-5 (-120)
Tie-breaker (1): Ironi Ness Ziona 1-0, +8; Trefl Sopot 0-1, -8.
Tie-breaker (2): Trefl Sopot 1-0, +4; Tartu 0-1, -4.