After a long fought weekend, the MDY Warriors faced off against the HAFTR Hawks in the finals of the Satran Tournament. The Hawks came out in a quick 5-0 lead but the Warriors were sparked by senior Allie Dweck and were able to take the lead before the end of the quarter. They led 15-12 at the end of the quarter, capped off by a Ben Gindi buzzer beater.

From this point on, neither of the teams took a lead of more than four points for the rest of regulation. The second quarter was more of the same as the Warriors were led by Jack Cohen shooting. The Hawks were being held up by Hymie Salem. The score at the half was 26-26.

In the third quarter, the Warriors were being propelled by Asher Melamed. He established himself in the paint and did a very good job on both ends of the floor. The score at the end of the quarter was 35-35.

The fourth quarter was more of the same as the Warriors were trying to pull away with help from Jo Cohen (seven assists), and David Sakkal’s defense. The Hawks continued to fight back and tied the game with 30 seconds left. The Warriors were unable to convert on the final possession so the game would go to overtime tied at 49. The Hawks would be without Salem as he fouled out late in the game.

During overtime, the Warriors went on an 11-3 run to start the period and did not look back. They were propelled by their press and continued to work together to get the job done. The final score was 66-59 in favor of the Warriors. Asher Melamed (tournament all star) led all scorers with 26 points and seven blocks. Dweck (finals MVP) added 16 points and six assists. Jack Cohen (tournament all star) added 14 points on 7-8 shooting. The Warriors went 5-1 in the tournament, concluding the season with a 20-8 record overall. The Warriors are now three time repeating champs of the Satran Tournament!

By Morris Zarif