Now that Moriah’s eighth grade boys basketball team has lost their fourth consecutive game, their playoff hopes depend on their final game of the season. To their dismay, they face the first place Yeshivat Noam Knights in the season finale.

On February 3, Yavneh descended upon the Moriah gym, and was equipped to fight with the return of their all-star point guard, Max Zakheim. Although Moriah’s leading scorer, Gabi Katz, was back in action as well, the team needed to compensate for the season-ending injury of Isaac Horowitz.

Moriah’s Dean Shein was the first to light up the scoreboard with his sweet jump shot. However, in only a matter of seconds, Yavneh’s sharpshooter, Eitan Dukas, retaliated with the first of his four treys. The rest of the quarter belonged to Yavneh’s Amichai Citron and Moriah’s Katz, who controlled the paint. Towards the end of the quarter, Yavneh’s star guard, Akiva Feit, left the game with an injury and joined Horowitz on the sidelines. By the end of the first quarter Moriah was up 10-7.

Once the second quarter started, it was all downhill for Moriah. The injury bug struck again, sending Jake Stifelman with a leg injury to join Horowitz and Feit on the sidelines. With Stifelman out of the way, Yavneh’s Citron was able to take advantage of the boards and of the scoreboard. At halftime, Yavneh was in control, 21-12.

When the second half began, Dukas was immediately back in rhythm; he hit another 3-pointer. Moriah was scoreless in the opening minutes of the half, until Katz broke the ice with a pair of free throws. Even though Moriah’s Shein converted on an “and-1”, the team was still trailing by 5. Clearly, Dukas’ 12 points were too much for Moriah to handle. In addition, Citron’s 11 and Zakheim’s 11 (9 free throws in the final two minutes) were crucial in the Yavneh 45-36 victory. Katz led all scorers with 15 points.

By Zach Horowitz