On October 26th the Varsity Cougars opened up their Yeshiva League regular season under new head coach Joe Schwartz and assistant coach Eli Davidoff with a hard-fought 58-51 win against the SAR Sting.

Using a 10-man rotation, the Cougars played tough man-to-man defense for most of the first half, scoring 22 points while holding the Sting to just 16 points as the teams went to the locker room at halftime. Frisch came out at the beginning of the third quarter on fire, starting with a 9-0 run that forced SAR to call time out and regroup. When the quarter closed, Frisch held what appeared to be a comfortable 45-28 lead. SAR was not finished, and came out with a stiff press, challenging the Cougars full court, baseline to baseline. In the end, Frisch withstood the pressure, holding off SAR’s big man, Sammy Marcus, and a barrage of free throws to hold on for the seven point victory.

Frisch’s balanced attack was led by Evan Cohen and Jacob Furer with 11 each, Jake Reichel with 10 and Justin Hod with 9. Rami Laifer ran the team from the point and Benni Tuchman, Tyler Hod, Eli Scharlat, Abba Szydlo, and Solomon Weiner played lock down team defense to help seal the victory.

On October 29th the JEC Thunder rolled on to the Frisch campus for a JV and varsity doubleheader. The night began with the Frisch JV championship banner ceremony, with the newest red banner being unfurled by varsity big man junior C Andrew Levine, the 6’4” anchor of the JV frontline from last year. Each player from the undefeated championship team was called by name, and all gathered at the foul line as the digital flashbulbs clicked furiously. After the national anthems, the ball went up on the new JV season.

Frisch applied serious pressure to the JEC backcourt from the outset, but the Thunder crew hung tough, trailing only 10-6 after one. Unfortunately for JEC, it quickly became clear that So. Capt. F Andrew “A-Train” Langer was running on the express line. With 4 points in the first quarter and 6 more in the second, Langer led the charge as the JV Cougars pulled out to a 26-16 halftime lead. Frisch continued with a mixture of pressure defenses at the beginning of the second half, which forced several turnovers and missed shots by the valiant Thunder. Nonetheless, the Thunder got the first 4 points of the third quarter to draw within 26-20. Challenged for the first time this late in a game or scrimmage this season, the Cougars stepped up. So. Capt. G Mayer Scharlat got hot, scoring 8 straight points on two three balls and a slicing drive, and So. Capt. PG Noah Schechter added 4 more points on power moves to the hoop. So. F. Isaac Weinstock imposed his will on the game, grabbing 4 of his team high 8 boards in the quarter as well. With another dose of Langer added for good measure, the Cougars closed out the stanza with a 47-31 advantage. The fourth quarter saw the whole roster of JV Cougars get significant playing time, with many tallying multiple points as the Cougars once again enjoyed very balanced scoring on the way to a convincing 62-41 win over the Thunder. Frisch, now 1-0, led by Langer with 17, and Schechter with 10 points.

Picking up right where the JV left off, the Varsity Cougars came out hungry and hustling, looking for their second league win in as many tries. Applying serious man-to-man pressure, the Cougars forced the Thunder into several early turnovers, with PG Rami Laifer wreaking havoc on the opposing backcourt. Frisch raced out to 15-8 advantage at the end of the first quarter on the back of very balanced scoring, including 3 points each from Sr. G. Justin Hod and Sr. G Eli Scharlat and dominant board play by Sr. C. Evan Cohen and Sr. C Jake Reichel (who added 2 points) and slashing fast break points from Sr. G Jacob Furer. The second quarter saw more of the same. Jr. F Benni Tuchman scored 5 in the period, with Laifer, Furer, Scharlat, Cohen each adding additional points to stretch the Cougar lead to 32-16 at the halfway point. The second saw more of the same, except this time from a new wave of Frisch players. Sr. F Abba Szydlo scored 6, and Sr. PG Solomon Weiner added 2 of his own. Picking up where they left off, Furer scored 6 more, Justin Hod tallied 5 more, and Reichel dropped in 4 additional points, with many of these points coming off skillful passes from Laifer and Jr. PG Tyler Hod. The Cougars’ teamwork and stellar defense afforded them a 64-29 victory. Furer led all scorers with 11 points.

The Varsity Cougars head to Heschel for their next game on Monday, November 4, 2013.