JEDDAH — Al-Ittihad defeated Al-Ahli 73-55 at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports Complex here this week. Ahli's import player Nate Johnson started the scoring and kept Ahli close in the first quarter, with Ittihad leading 17-11. He finished the half with 17 points, more than half of Ahli's total points. Ittihad finished the half 34-30 up and had to solve the problem of the high scoring Johnson. Ittihad did what it had to and outscored Ahli 21-6 in the third period. It finished the game at 73-55, taking the top spot in the league ahead of the two other teams that were undefeated, Ohud and Ansar. Ittihad's Jabbar Al-Kabri scored 23 points, with import Garnett Thompson adding 17 and 10 rebounds. Mohammed Hassan hit 14 and Methena Hassan 11. For Ahli, Johnson scored 31 and Fawaz Mohammed 11. The two other undefeated teams faced off in Medina — Ansar against No. 1 Ohud which had topped the Saudi Basketball League in Week 2 and 3 by leading in total points scored. Ansar, however, wrested the top spot in Week 4, handing Ohud its first loss at 87-76. Other results of the week: Wehdah 75, Fath 66; Khaliq 73, Jubail 58; Nahdah 75, Qadsiyah 61; and Hilal 105, Nasr 45. Ansar and Ittihad lead the league with 7 wins and no losses. Ohud and Wehdah are next with a 6-1 win-loss record. Fath stands at 5-2. Hilal, Nahdah, and Ahli round out the top eight with 3 wins and 4 defeats each.
