Kyle Alexander led the way with a monster double-double.
Hapoel overpowers Wolves 89-80 to clinch playoff berth



Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv clinched a spot in the BKT EuroCup playoffs with an 89-80 victory over Wolves Vilnius on Wednesday in a makeup game from Round 2. The victory was the seventh in a row for Hapoel, which improved to 11-2 and sits in second place in Group A. Wolves fell to 4-9 with its sixth loss in a row.
Kyle Alexander dominated for the winners with 22 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. He set a club record with 9 offensive rebounds, which was the most by any player in the EuroCup all season. Tomer Ginat and John Holland added 17 points apiece. Bar Timor added 12 points and Xavier Munford tallied 9 points, 8 assists and 3 steals. Hapoel was missing stars J’Covan Brown, Jaylen Hoard and Braian Angola due to injuries, while new signings Will Cummings and Dez Wells were not eligible, as they were not registered with the team during Round 2.
Rasheed Sulaimon paced Wolves with 20 points. Christian Mekowulu contributed 16 points and 6 rebounds and Tre’Shawn Thurman, Jeffery Taylor and Vaidas Karniauskas netted 10 points each.
Hapoel races ahead early
Hapoel got off to a 6-0 start with baskets from three different players before Sulaimon got Wolves on the board with a three-pointer. Triples kept Wolves close as a shot by Kristupas Zemaitis made it 13-10 midway through the opening quarter. Timor started to attack the basket and put his team up 21-14. Holland’s pull-up triple made it 26-18 after 10 minutes.
Wolves power the glass to tie the score
Free throws by Karniauskas and a bucket inside by Djordje Gagic to start the second quarter drew Wolves within 2. Hapoel responded to keep a slim lead and then jumped ahead 35-28 through baskets by its big men. Jeffery Taylor heated up to get Wolves within 3 and then Mekowulu took over with a second-chance dunk and a three to even the game at 38-38. Timor got his team back on track and the half ended with Hapoel up 47-44.
Game Videos
Alexander ignites 9-0 run
Zemaitis tied the game with a three from the wing, but soon Alexander and Ginat combined on a 6-0 run, which prompted a Wolves timeout at 55-49. Ginat and Holland stretched the run to 9 before Gagic scored inside. A triple by Timor gave Hapoel the game’s first double-digit lead, 65-55. Ginat remained hot and Holland took a steal in for a slam as the lead reached 13. A three-point play by Mekowulu made it 70-60 at the end of the quarter.
Sulaimon and Mekowulu combined on 5 points early in the fourth quarter to give Wolves confidence. Hapoel found its groove through Holland and Alexander to keep the visitors at bay. A Karniauskas jumper made it 79-73 with 3 and a half minutes to go. Hapoel called timeout and Ginat scored on the next two possessions – both times via Munford assists – to restore a double-digit lead. And Wolves did not threaten again.