On December 14th, the (4-0) Noam 7th grade boys’ basketball team traveled to (3-0) Moriah in a battle for first place, which is what most fans believe will be a preview of the YMSSA 7th grade boys’ championship basketball game.
The excitement began from the tip-off, taken by skyscrapers, Moriah’s Gaby Katz and Noam’s Billy Krause. Moriah immediately got into action as Isaac Horowitz scored the first 2 points on a nice fast break layup. To keep Noam in the game, Yoni Mann retaliated with a couple of his own fast breaks, finishing the quarter with 3 of them. As the horn sounded, Moriah had the lead, 11-9.
Noam’s Reuben Melzer opened up the 2nd quarter by draining a long 2-ball from the corner. Horowitz responded with aggressive defense, and offensively nailing jumpers from all over the court. Horowitz led Moriah with 14 points and 13 rebounds, followed by Katz with 10 points and 16 rebounds. In addition, Ethan Schechter contributed 6 points with clutch shooting from mid-range.
Throughout the entire 2nd half, Mann played phenomenal basketball, especially on the transition game. His defense and aggression sparked the rest of the Noam squad, setting up Sam Bendheim for many made free throws. Mann went on to lead Noam with 14 points and 7 rebounds.
Minutes before the final buzzer rang Moriah looked like it was going to give up its lead. But thanks to Rafi Lewis and his ridiculously fast legs, he was able to drain a decent portion of the clock, having the Noam players literally chase him as if they were playing a game of tag. When the horn finally sounded, Moriah had taken 1st place with the score 43-34.
