In the Sarachek Tier II championship, the DRS Wildcats defeated the HAFTR Hawks by a score of 69-54. The Wildcats, who had to win a play-in game against Frisch just to get into the tournament, completed a successful run of six games in six days, as they were victorious in all but one contest.

After a lot of pre-game hype for the battle of the Five Towns, both squads started slowly, neither hitting a basket for about two minutes. The teams exchanged baskets for the next three minutes, and the score was knotted at 7-7. The last three minutes of the period saw DRS go on a controlling 11-0 run, capped off by a buzzer beater putback by Adir Sacknovitz.

In the second quarter, DRS picked up right where they left off, opening the quarter by upping the 11-0 run to 18-0, propelled by Joe Aaron free throws and a Tzvi Tsaidi three. HAFTR’s Sam Siri ended the run with five consecutive points, including a strong drive to the basket, leading to a layup. The teams then exchanged baskets for the rest of the quarter, including two big threes from Kevin Levy, and DRS went into the locker room with a 39-24 lead.

Opening the second half, Levy began to put the Hawks on his back, as he scored HAFTR’s first seven points of the quarter. The quarter also saw two injury scares for DRS, with both Joe Aaron and Aiden Buchbinder leaving the game, although each would return soon after. When the dust settled, the score was 52-39 entering the fourth.

During the final frame, each team struggled to string together consecutive stops and scores. With about two minutes to go and many of HAFTR’s stars having fouled out of the game, both teams emptied their benches, as DRS cruised to a 69-54 victory and cemented themselves as the Tier II champions.

Ultimately, this game came down to free throws for DRS, as the Wildcats went an impressive 22/28 from the charity stripe. Aaron led the way for DRS with 20 points and was crowned as the Tier II MVP. Aiden Buchbinder also contributed 20 points for DRS, including some impossible-looking mid-range jumpers, while Simon Bitton added 10 of his own. For HAFTR, Kevin Levy led the way with 29 points, while Peter Drukker had eight points to go along with five rebounds.