BEIRUT (Lebanon) - Al Riyadi showed how closing out a series should be as they gave Orthodox Amman the boot in dominant fashion, 97-62, to make it to the WASL-West Asia Semi-Finals, Thursday night at the Saeb Salam Stadium in Beirut.

Thanks hugely to their two-man offensive wrecking machine of Kevin Murphy and Wael Arakji, the crew seized control early on and would never allow any close encounter to take place, much to the joy of the ever-appreciative home crowd.

With the win, an all-Lebanese affair will be taking place in the semis as Al Riyadi will take on Beirut Club in a best-of-3 affair commencing next Thursday.

Game heroes: Murphy, just in his third WASL game with his new team, led the way with 28 points on 64-percent shooting from the field, including 6 treys.

Arakji supplied 23 points, submitting his best scoring output since dropping 25 against Al Naft back in the Group Phase last March 9. He also had 6 assists.

The spitfire tandem combined for 23 points in just the first quarter alone to steer Al Riyadi to a 30-12 lead. They even outscored the entire Orthodoxi at one point, merging for 34 points while their foes only had 28 at the half.

Hayk Gyokchyan contributed as well with his 14 points and 5 rebounds, while Daniel Ochefu missed out on a double-double as he had 9 markers and 14 boards.

STEP AHEAD Player of the Game: Arakji deservingly earned STEP AHEAD Player of the Game honors, receiving 49-percent of the fans' votes online.

Turning point: Orthodox Amman actually scored the game's first basket courtesy of Brandon Peterson, but it would be the only time they'd lead as Arakji and Murphy began buckling down to work and steered their side to a commanding 22-5 lead.

Al Riyadi stayed ahead the rest of the way. They even led by as many as 42 points, 89-47, behind Murphy's trey with under six minutes left to play.

Stats don't lie: Al Riyadi shot 54-percent from the field big thanks to their fluid ball movement that led to 25 assists. The home team also ruled the boards, 46-32.

They said: "Offensively, Wael and Kevin are our leaders. They had a great performance tonight, and I'm full of confidence that they will do the same and they will lead us far in this tournament. We are starting to adapt to the way of WASL -- travelling and everything. Next game it's gonna be crucial for both teams, especially the two teams know each other very well." - Ahmad El Farran, Head Coach, Al Riyadi

"I'd take my team over anybody. If we play like we did today, we can beat anybody." - Kevin Murphy, Al Riyadi

"We've been having a tough two to three weeks for our team. We haven't been performing the way we're supposed to, I believe the only way is up from now on for us. We understand the gravity of the situation for this club. We cannot lose anymore or we'll be knocked out of WASL. We're a team that's aiming to win every championship and this is our goal for this year."- Wael Arakji, Al Riyadi

"We lacked energy. We were not making our shots. It's basketball. If you don't make your shots, it would be slow going back on defense We had some trouble with our adjustments. But it's just a bad game. It's just one game. We have a lot more to show, this is not the end, this is just the beginning. Thank you for WASL. This tournament is one of the top leagues and we're thankful to be part of it. We will come back stronger." - Harry Savaya, Head Coach, Orthodox Amman

FIBA