DRS vs. North Shore. In a close, well-played first half, DRS led 23–21 at the intermission. The Wildcats came out strong in the third quarter, outscoring North Shore 17–4 to take a commanding 15 point lead after three. The final score was 62–41 DRS with Jo Jo Velenski leading all scorers with 27 points (25 in the second half). Zack Brown chipped in 11 points and AJ Bennett added 10 points for DRS. High scorer for North Shore was Steven Levian with 11 points
Shaare Torah vs. YDE. In their first round matchup, the Shaare Stars took on the YDE Thunder at the Sephardic Center. Shaare jumped out to an early lead in the 1st quarter led by Jackie Haber. YDE hit a couple of shots to get back in it, however, Shaare took a 38-21 lead at half time. In the third quarter, Freddy Swaid took over and the Stars opened up a 20 point lead. The Stars went on to win the game by a score of 69-57. Congratulations to the YDE Thunder on a great season.
TABC vs. Frisch. In a hard fought playoff contest, TABC was able to stave off a fierce late game charge by Frisch. Both teams played very well. TABC featured a balanced scoring attack. Congratulations to Frisch on a successful season.
SAR vs. Ramaz. After being down most of the game, SAR was able to fight back and send the game to OT with 2 Eli Jesselson 3-pointers. They pulled off the victory with a Josh Hyman free throw with 3.3 left on the clock. The Sting were led by Eli Jesselson 18 points and Joe Gross 12.
JV Playoffs
TABC vs. MTA. TABC held off a strong second half surge from MTA, winning a close game. TABC featured a well balanced offense and defense, spreading the scoring among several players. Congratulations to MTA on a very strong season.
Hillel vs. Ramaz. In a back and forth battle, Hillel held on to beat Ramaz 49-46. The score was 21-21 at the half and Hillel led by 4 going into the 4th quarter. In the 4th quarter, Julius Rubinstein exploded for 13 pts (8/8 fts), but Hillel’s Eric Cytryn clinched the game with 2 big fts.
NSHA vs. YDE. The NSHA boys JV basketball team went to Brooklyn on their day off from school for a highly anticipated playoff matchup with the YDE Thunder. The teams split during the regular season with each team winning on their home court. Coming off the Katz Yeshiva Tournament, the NSHA were looking to avenge their last loss to YDE. NSHA started out quickly, playing suffocating defense and taking a 19-7 lead on the second quarter. YDE fought back and inspired by their home crowd, cut the lead to 19-17 at halftime. The third quarter is where everything changed. Playing suffocating defense along with deliberate offense, NSHA played a dominant quarter led by both Ari Tuerack and Ben Falack. The quarter was capped off with a three pointer in the final seconds by Jeremy Gorjian to get the lead to 20. YDE fought back furiously in the 4th quarter but ultimately NSHA was able to make some foul shots and hold on to win 51-35.
MTA Wrestling Team Places Third at Wittenberg Invitational
The MTA wrestling team was excited to participate in the Wittenberg Wrestling Invitational, which began on Friday, February 14. Most teams entered the competition with approximately 20 wrestlers, whereas MTA had only 11 team members. What the MTA team lacked in numbers, they made up for in strength. The team kicked off the competition with Friday morning Shacharis, followed by Gemara learning, led by Moshe Khaloo (‘21), then went on to begin their matches. The team won some and lost some and by the end of the day, they found themselves in second place, but the main event was yet to come. The team returned to MTA for a team-building Shabbaton with Coach Eli Amsellem, and geared up for a big day on Sunday.
After a hard day of wrestling, the MTA team finished the event in third place, with 7 members placing in the following categories: Benjy Dier (‘22) won 4th place at 120 lbs, Nathan Samuel (‘21) won 4th place at 132 lbs, Shmuel Dorwitt (‘20) won 3rd place at 138 lbs, Yehuda Silberfarb (‘20) won 3rd place at 152 lbs, Moshe Khaloo (‘21) won 5th place at 160 lbs, Binyamin Fuld (‘21) won 4th place at 195 lbs, and Shmuel Levy (‘23) won 4th place at Heavyweight.
Young Israel Basketball Opens Season
The National Council of Young Israel opened up its new season with a tremendous amount of excitement and enthusiasm from players and coaches. The season has already produced some exciting games and close finishes. It is open to all shuls and schools for high school age.
Intermediate Division
In the battle of the Hornets, we saw the Heichal Hornets and the Harborview Hornets going at it in a prime time Motzaei Shabbos game. The first half seemed like we were in for a thriller. As both teams were going back and forth. Harborview was giving Heichal a fit as they forced many turnovers.
The second half was a completely different story as the Heichal D made some adjustment during halftime. They came out on fire starting the half with a 9-0 run. Things only got worse for Harborview as they quickly found themselves in foul trouble. Heichal was led offensively by Eli Spivak finishing with 16 points all during the second half. Avi Weiner contributed with another excellent game scoring 14 points. Heichal took this one 56-37. The Heichal Hornets are looking strong at 3-0. The JV crew is looking to solidify themselves as a Young Israel league dynasty. The Hornets have won the NCYI JV Championship two years in a row, going for the three-peat. Heichal celebrated with a post game pizza melaveh malkah.
Judah Rhine, who has been coaching youth basketball for more than 35 years, is co-director of MVP Boys Basketball Camp and MVP Girls Basketball Camp and co‑commissioner of the National Council of Young Israel basketball league. He can be reached at mvp4boys@gmail.com or mvp4girls@gmail.com. For more information on MVP camps visit themvpcamps.com.