On Sunday, January 6, the MTA JV basketball Lions played a must-win game against the Frisch Cougars. Winning this game would lock up the #2 seed and a first round bye for MTA. With a loss, they would fall to the #3 seed and play in the first round of the playoffs. Coming off a win against Hillel, the Lions looked like they were in a good place. Sophomore point guard Yosef Zakon came back to the starting lineup after being sidelined in the game against Hillel. The first quarter was all 3 pointers. Zakon showed his presence on the court and started off the quarter red hot, going 3-3 on his threes, while freshman Shua Alexander went 2-2 on his threes. Frisch retaliated well, but still fell behind. Between sophomores Tani Engel and Azi Goldberg, and freshman Dani Wolk, the Frisch defense was crippled. The MTA Lions came out of the locker room like it was a whole new game for the second half. Going on a 7-0 run to start off, it was too much for Frisch to handle. By the fourth quarter, it seemed like both teams really figured it out. MTA kept hitting shots, but Frisch kept coming back at them. With three minutes left in the quarter, sophomore Ben Platovsky came into the game and hit a few clutch free throws to seal the win. The MTA JV Lions look forward to their next games against Westchester on Thursday, January 10, and Heschel on Sunday, February 3.

By Donny Book (‘22)

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