As Star Wars hit the theater, Noam’s force hit Moriah’s gym. On the first real day of winter, Noam’s 8b boys basketball squad unleashed their force against the two-time defending champions, Moriah, in a game which most fans believe to be the preview of the 2016 YMSSA championship basketball game.
After losing the previous two championship games against Moriah (3-1), Noam (4-0) entered Moriah’s new gym with the eye of the tiger and hungry for a victory. Defying the odds in Moriah’s gym, Noam squeezed a crucial victory with the scoreboard displaying 68-60.
After the tipoff between the twin towers (Moriah’s Gaby Katz and Noam’s Billy Krause) Moriah got to work early. Katz started off with the hot roll as he threw down two quick baskets. With the momentum moving, Rafi Lewis tossed a Hail Mary down the court to Isaac Horowitz, who finished the play with two points. However, Noam finally got their chance to pound Moriah when Ari Kaminetzky nailed two quick treys. In addition, Noam’s Sam Bendheim added multiple layups to increase the score. When the first half closed, Noam was ahead 36-31.
What a surprise! Kaminetzky opened up the third quarter with another 3-pointer, and boosted Noam’s lead on Moriah. Their “3-point specialist,” Noam’s star point guard Yoni Mann, took advantage of his defensive mismatch as he attacked the hoop. On the other side of the gym, Katz, with his hook shot, was back in action, although he wasn’t able to stop Noam from extending their lead to 12. Nevertheless, Horowitz and his defense carried the team back into the game; they were able to reduce the deficit to 6 when the buzzer sounded.
Once the clocked started ticking in the fourth quarter, a tremendous amount of pressure fell on Moriah. Lewis lit up the scoreboard immediately with his first basket of the night, as he drove through all five defenders. A few possessions later, Moriah recaptured the lead for the first time since the first quarter when Lewis hit another layup.
To Moriah’s dismay, Krause tied the game back with a pair of free throws. Consequently, Mann intercepted a Moriah turnover and finished on the layup for the lead. With time winding down, Lewis assisted to David Cohen, so Moriah evened the score out. With the score tied and less than three minutes to go, Mann saved his team, beating two Moriah defenders towards the basket.
Mann sealed the tough win for the Knights while he was being chased around the court by the Moriah defenders in the same way as the chicken was being chased by Rocky in Rocky II. Mann carried his team with 23 points along with Kaminetzky’s 20 points (6 treys). In addition, Krause’s 11 were crucial to this victory. As for the League defending champions, Katz led his squad with a career-high 36 points followed by Horowitz’s 9 points.
By Zach Horowitz
