Two short seasons ago the Heschel Heat were coming off a championship victory fending off the favorite and champion from the previous season, Magen David. The talk was all about returning superstar Ricky Sutton and the several returning players with the kind of chemistry that was admirable on college athletics’ standards. This time around the Heat have an entirely new roster, yet the same goal: to win the championship.

This past Sunday, The Heat kept that goal in mind as they started their season against Yeshiva League newcomers Ohr Yisroel. Heschel came out firing on all cylinders and demonstrating Coach Pick’s famous lockdown defense, resulting in a comfortable lead at the half with a score of 41-20.

The second half exemplified much of the same as the Heat outscored their opponent 20-11 in the third frame. After the concluding fourth quarter buzzer sounded, the scoreboard displayed a final score of 73-54 in favor of the Heat.

Some tremendous contributions were seen on the offensive end led by senior forward Ethan Nessim’s double-double with team highs in both points (18) and rebounds (13). Additionally, center Michael Barak controlled the paint on both ends, resulting in countless defensive stops and second-chance opportunities on the offensive end.

Despite only one game into the long season, the Heat displayed their determination to be successful, led by the desire to reach the championship game once again.

Thank you to the Heschel Varsity Heat Instagram page for helpful information for this article!

Ikey Gutlove has been a long time contributor to the sports section of the Jewish link and is currently the Jewish Link of New Jersey Sports Intern. He can be reached at [email protected]