In the semifinals, the top seeded Nets were facing Project Ezrah in the Torah Academy of Bergen County’s new gym. Project Ezrah came out shooting, and took an early 13-2 lead. Rafi Selevan and sharp shooter Doni Kilimnick fought back, and the Nets had a 21-19 lead at half. Coming out of the half, Project Ezrah proved to be too much for the Nets, led by scorer Aryeh Berman (15 pts). Project Ezrah was driven by eighth grader Jack Reinhart (game high 18 pts), and with a 70-60 victory, they awaited the winner from the other TABC gym.At the same time, an epic game was taking place across the hall as Five Star Caterers matched up with team Yudin’s Appliances. The game started with an NBA “three” from Yudin’s Eli Friedman. Aryeh Halpert answered back for team Five Star and it was a shoot-out from there on.  Eleven of the twenty eight field goals made in the first half were from 3-point land. The two teams went into the half with Five Star up 40-35.

Five Star tried to build on their lead in the second, but Yudin’s held strong: Dan Poleyoff and JJ Zakheim were sinking shots from all over the court, and Jack “Step it up” Stepner mimicked their momentum. In a game when his team needed him most, Stepner was a monster under the boards and displayed a soft touch for a big man, with a team high 20 points. But in a game that was close until the end, Five Star eventually pulled away to a 74-71 victory. Daniel Wisotsky led all scorers with 34 points and propelled team Five Star to play another day, now against Project Ezrah, for the MGBL High School Championship.  Fourteen hours later, teams Project Ezrah and Five Star Caterers tipped off in a game that was a fitting end to another exciting year of Mitch Gross Basketball. Sharp-shooting from Michael and Matthew Reinhart kept the game close. Aryeh Halpert and Zvi Kaminetsky scored some key buckets for the Five Star team ( Zvi had the largest cheering squad, as his whole family came straight from his brother Ari’s hachnasat tefillin). The story was once again the lights out shooting of Daniel Wisotsky, scoring 13 of his teams’ first 14 points and finishing with a game high 27 points that earned him MVP honors.As a year of MGBL comes to a close, the MGBL team thanks the sponsors, parents, coaches and of course the kids that make the league so great. Registration for the upcoming girls season is now open (congratulations to Aliza Poloner for being the first to sign up). Spots are limited, please register ASAP. Team, division and league sponsorship opportunities are available. The league is an IRS recognized 501c3 tzedakah.