7B Noam Also Champs
The game was an “instant classic” that featured incredible performances by players on both teams, big comebacks from both teams and enough drama, pressure and excitement to last a lifetime.
The Noam Knights jumped out to 11-0 lead behind the strong inside play of Billy Krause, the drives of Yoni Mann and the outside shooting of Yehuda Mirwis. The Knights were playing great and Yavneh was reeling.
When the first quarter ended, Noam had a 22-6 lead and it looked like they might cruise to an easy victory. Not quite. The early deficit did not faze Yavneh one bit. They switched to a man-to-man defense, started hitting their shots and completely shut Noam down. Akiva Feit hit driving layups, Max Zakheim hit a three and Amichai Citron rejected a Noam three-pointer that he took coast-to-coast for a layup that ignited the Yavneh fans. Benjamin Tyler came off the bench and controlled the boards. Yavneh kept chipping away at Noam’s lead, and by halftime it was down to three. Noam was ahead but Yavneh had all the momentum.
A few minutes into the third quarter, Yavneh had the lead as well. Danny Weinberger put back an offensive rebound, Citron banked in a shot and the big Noam lead was gone. The Yavneh crowd was going wild and when Eitan Dukas connected on two bombs from the outside it felt like the roof was going to cave in. Yoni Mann and Billy Krause managed to hit a few shots that kept Noam close but when the third quarter ended with Yavneh up 38-32, things were not looking good for the Knights. Noam did everything they could to get back in the game in the fourth quarter, but every time they did Yavneh answered. With about 5 minutes left in the game and Yavneh up 40-33, Ari Kaminetzky hit a three to cut the lead to four. Yavneh came down and Weinberger hit a floater in the lane to make it 42-36. After Krause cut the lead to four, Tyler hit a gorgeous reverse layup off a nice pass from Citron that got the Yavneh lead back to six. Back and forth it went, both teams making play after play.
With just under two minutes left in the game, Yehuda Mirwis buried a step back three-pointer from the right wing and the Yavneh lead was down to one. The Noam comeback was almost complete but Yavneh had other ideas. Dukas responded to the Mirwis three with one of his own and after another Citron block and coast-to-coast layup, put Yavneh up 49-43. With about 1:20 to go, the Championship victory that the Knights craved was slipping away. Noam did not fold. They kept pushing. Yoni Mann hit a driving bank shot and one with a minute to go that cut the lead to three. Sam Bendheim deflected the Yavneh inbound pass and the Knights had life. After Noam missed two three-pointers, either would have tied the game. Gabi Antosofsky made the play of the game and came out of nowhere, grabbed the loose ball and put in the rebound to cut the lead to one. Noam fouled and after Yavneh made one foul shot, Yoni Mann scored on a beautiful baseline drive to tie the game with 30 seconds left. The place was going nuts. Yavneh held for the last shot.
With the clock ticking down, Max Zakheim split two defenders at the top of the key and appeared to have a wide-open look to win the game until Billy Krause stepped up and swatted the ball away just before the buzzer sounded. Yoni Mann and Billy Krause scored quickly in OT to give the Knights a four-point lead. Yavneh tried valiantly to stay in the game but with momentum back on their side, the Knights were too much to overcome and they went on to a thrilling 62-52 victory. Yavneh was led by Akiva Feit (11), Amichai Citron (10) and Max Zakheim and Eitan Dukas with nine points each. Danny Weinberger (6) fought through severe back pain to play a solid game and Benjamin Tyler (7) was a strong presence inside. For the Kinghts, Yoni Mann (23) and Billy Krause (20) led the way. Yehuda Mirwis had eight and made countless big plays throughout the game. Ari Kaminetzky had five big fourth-quarter points and Gabi Antosofsky’s late-game heroics were a big reason Noam won. Reuben Melzer did an outstanding job defending Citron, and Sam Bendheim’s deflection late in the game was pivotal.
