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Al Najma romped to a one-sided 112-68 victory over import-less Al Ettihad last night in the 2024-25 Zain Bahrain Basketball League, played at Zain Basketball Arena in Um Al Hassam.
Najma took a commanding lead early and never took their foot off the gas, leading by as many as 45 points en route to their massive in this season’s Premier League.
Professionals Jonathan Arledge and Tyler Wilkerson combined for 52 points to spearhead the winners in the contest.
Najma led 22-8 after the first quarter and then were up 52-28 at the half. They continued to pile it on after the restart and headed into the final frame with an insurmountable 81-43 cushion. A pair of Mohayed Ameer free-throws with less than a minute to go gave Najma their biggest lead of the night just before the game’s end.
Arledge finished with 28 points while Wilkerson added 24 to go with 17 rebounds and six assists. Robert Lowery chipped in with 19 and Mohammed Hussain had 10 in the win.
Hassan Fahad top scored for Ettihad with 15, while Ali Jassim and Nasser Almosawi each contributed 11 in the losing effort.
Najma secured their second win in four games and improved to six points on the Premier League standings. They gave Ettihad their sixth loss in as many tries as they slumped to the bottom of the table.
In yesterday’s other game, Sitra edged past Bahrain Club 70-65 in League B action.
An Abdulla Nader lay-up with just over two minutes remaining put Sitra up 64-59 and they were able to hold on from there to the five-point victory.
The victors headed into the final frame with a 56-48 advantage but Bahrain Club were able to get to within a point following a pair of Sayed Salman Husain free-throws and five minutes to play, but they came no closer.
Earlier in the contest, Sitra led 20-15 at the end of the first period and then 43-31 at the break. They enjoyed their biggest lead of 14 early in the third en route to closing things out in the fourth quarter.
Skipper Mahdi Abdulameer paced Sitra with 17 points and seven assists, while Ali Hussain Fardan addwed 14 and Ismaeel Kamal 10, both off the bench.
Husain was Bahrain Club’s leading performer with 21 points, while Mansoor Jaber chipped in with 16 in the losing effort.
With the result, Sitra posed their second win in five games in League B, while they handed Bahrain Club their fourth loss in their game outings.
Action in the 2024-25 Zain Bahrain Basketball League continues tonight with another two games. At 6pm, Isa Town face off with Samaheej in a League B encounter, to be followed at 8pm by a mammoth Premier League showdown between current leaders Muharraq and defending champions Manama.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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