In a game for the record books, the Noam Knights became the first boys basketball team in YMSSA history to win the sixth, seventh and eighth grade championships. The atmosphere was tense and the pressure was on in the Frisch gym on Sunday as the Knights went to battle against the SAR Sting. Both teams had something to prove, as SAR had handed Noam its only loss of the season, and SAR was out to avenge its tough comeback loss to Noam in last year’s championships.
To start the game, Max Wolff of SAR won the tip to Noam Segal for a quick layup. The Knights answered with a three pointer by Eli Saks and a steal and layup by Harry Orlinsky. The Sting, led by big man Wolff, who had 10 rebounds in the first half, dominated the glass before halftime. Both teams ran into foul trouble, with Wolff being benched with three fouls, and Noam’s big men getting into foul trouble of their own. Josh Orlinsky’s strong defense off the bench, along with scoring from Saks, who would finish the game with a game-leading 18 points, and Harry Orlinsky, who would finish the game with 16 points, eight rebounds and six steals, helped them turn a five point deficit into a 24-19 halftime lead.
It was in the second half that the Knights put on the pressure. Led by Matti Cohen, who had eight points and nine rebounds in the second half, the Knights went on an eleven to two run, mostly because they were finally able to control the glass and limit all the second chance points that the Sting had been getting in the first half. Segal, who had 21 point in the game, tried to respond, but it wasn’t enough, as big men Yis Kaminetzky and Joseph Mann, who each scored seven points, controlled the boards and guard Joey Zelig scored six points. The team pulled together and the Noam Knights’ stifling defense was too much for the Sting. The final score was 62-37.
This historic three-year run was truly a team effort. Every player contributed to the Knights winning season, and the team functioned as one unit in every game. This win could not have been possible without the team’s three-year players, shooting guard Yitzchak Hagler, big man Sam Ashendorf and shooting guard Elijah Mosberg. The team grew in seventh grade with the addition of small forward Nate Mohl. Newcomers forward Elisha Markovitz, center Yosef Kryzman and forward Avi Schachter added their mark to the team this season. But none of this would have been possible without the devotion and hard work of Coach Dovey Forman, who put his heart and soul into this team.
By Yitzchak Hagler, YN Class of 2018
