(Courtesy of RYNJ Jaguars) In a highly anticipated championship matchup, the top two seventh-grade boys teams met up Sunday, March 1, at the Frisch School.  Both teams were 9-1 in the regular season, defeating every other team they faced and splitting the regular season games. RYNJ defeated Hillel at home, and Hillel responded in kind when they hosted RYNJ later in the season. In front of a packed crowd, the game started off with strong offense by both teams. Buckets by Asher Akselrod and Yaakov Miranda and a clutch 3 by Noam Mayer found RYNJ at the short end of a 13-11 score after the first quarter. The offense for RYNJ slowed in the second quarter, thanks to stifling defense by Hillel and the hot hands of Robert Braha, Daveed Abadi and Ralph Franco.  Great defense by Abie Kleinman and timely buckets by point guard Menachem Wiederkehr and Miranda kept the game close with the score 24-17 Hillel at halftime. The third quarter was dominated by defense on both sides, with Shai Staum bringing down some big rebounds. Nonetheless, RYNJ was outscored and found themselves staring down a seemingly insurmountable 34-22 deficit after the third quarter. The fourth quarter found RYNJ playing the best basketball of their season.  Down 14, buckets by Miranda and Kleinman started closing the gap, as did a more aggressive offense and tenacious defense. Wiederkehr played inspired offense and scored 6 clutch points, including the tying points with 1:44 left.  After back and forth defensive stops, RYNJ had the ball; with 18 seconds left on the clock, Akselrod banked in the go-ahead basket. Hillel had a chance to reclaim the lead in the final seconds, but RYNJ held on to win the game 36-34. Both teams were coached very well throughout the season, and played with excellent sportsmanship. RYNJ’s success was a testament to the outstanding coaching by Eli Wolk, and the very talented roster including Ari Klar, Gavriel Kravitz, William Moskovitz, Akiva Gaisin, Aharon Krohn, Dovi Maxwell, Tzvi Savetsky and Binyamin Strauss.  No doubt these two teams will look forward to facing each other again next year!