The junior varsity basketball playoffs started off with an offensive showcase between the SAR Sting and MTA Lions. Despite easily beating the Lions in their regular season matchup and being the heavily considered favorites in this first round matchup, the opening minutes of the first quarter displayed the Lions’ potential to play with the Sting. Towards the end of the first quarter the Sting started to make an emphasis on the scoreboard, backed by lockdown defense turning into easy offense. Sting freshman guard Ari Halpert single handedly went on a 7-0 run to end the first quarter to give his team a comfortable lead.
The following three quarters appeared to almost be a reenactment of the final minutes of the first quarter as the Sting continued to display their offensive prowess which proved to be too much for the Lions to handle. Even though the Lions took the loss, this season was an overall victory for them as they had their first winning season and playoff appearance for the first time since the 2020 season. Similar to their varsity team, the next challenge for the Sting will be against the DRS Wildcats.
Nearly a week later, the culmination of the first round took place when the remaining three matchups took place on one night. The evening started out with the Flatbush Falcons visiting the HAFTR Hawks. Despite a slow start to the game, the Hawks were hot almost all night and unguardable from beyond the arc. Freshman Jason Meyer was the story of the game due to his contribution of a game high 22 points, which included six 3-pointers. Between Meyer’s shooting display and the Salem brothers combining for 23 points, the Hawks were victorious. They will travel to Teaneck to take on the TABC Storm in the next round.
Similar to the first game of the night, the battle between the North Shore Lions and YDE Thunder came down to the shooting showcase of North Shore Freshman Charlie Sassoon. Sassoon knocked down five 3-pointers and combined with sophomore forward Eli Bokhour for forty points which proved to be too much for the Thunder. The Lions will look to continue their quest for back-to-back championships with a quarter-final matchup with the Ramaz Rams.
Earlier in the season the Hillel Heat defended their homecourt against the Frisch Cougars in what at first glance appeared as an ordinary regular season matchup, little did either team know that this victory would determine both the seeding of teams four through six in the western conference, but more importantly who would have home court.
In the final first round matchup, the Cougars showed up to Deal, New Jersey with aspirations to upset the higher ranked Heat. Sophomore guards Max Schachter and Simon Trump clearly came to play as they contributed 20 and 17 points respectively, which proved to be enough to advance the Cougars to the next round. The next challenge for the Cougars will be against the red-hot Magen David Warriors, who not only had an undefeated regular season, but were also crowned champions at the recent Oren Grunbaum Invitational Tournament in Montreal, Canada.
Make sure to check this section weekly for all updates and the latest news from around the Yeshiva League. Also make sure to check out Yeshiva League Pass on Instagram and their website for nightly updates on varsity basketball and hockey.
Ikey Gutlove is the Jewish Link sports intern. Please contact [email protected] if you have interest in contributing to this column by providing stories and updates from any high school athletic teams.
