The Nets pushed aside Maccabees 70-54 in the semifinal of the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Associa-tion’s (GABA) Bryden’s second division league on Saturday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
Joe Ifill proved to be the most dependable scoring option for the Nets and his efficiency against the Maccabees defence resulted in him finishing with a game-high 19 points.
Ifill put quite a show in the low post for the few fans at the Sports Hall which included his older brother Andrew ‘Mr. Dunk’ Ifill, who plays professional basketball in the European League.
Ifill made good on his first four shots in the midst of tight defence down low.
In tribute to his `high-flying’ older brother, Ifill caused an uproar in the arena when he dunked on Maccabees guard Devon Cameron off a Frank Belle’s missed lay-up.
Drunson Macaulay also came up big in the paint adding a solid 16 points for the Nets.
After trailing 22-32 at halftime, Maccabees got back into the game briefly by playing tight defence the second they in-bounded the ball, which caused a few turnovers in the backcourt.
However, the Nets quickly made adjustments to combat the full-court press and expanded on the deficit which the Maccabees had given their all to close to four points.
Coach and back up point guard Kezqweyah Yisrael tried to author a Cinderella story for his team, taking off his coach designated polo shirt and checking into the game a few times.
Unfortunately for the Maccabees, Yisrael was more effective on the bench as he finished the night scoreless, missing all five of his three-point attempts, especially the three-point ‘prayers’ he launched from miles beyond arch.
Meanwhile, Randy Burgess hit four three-pointers and finished with 17 points while the earlier-crowned Cameron added 16 points to his team’s losing total.
