Many crucial matchups took place in the MYHSAL yeshiva varsity basketball league this past week, which will play a significant role in not only the power rankings, but the playoffs that will occur in the near future. The week started off with an inner conference matchup between the Ohr Yisroel Flames and the Kushner Cobras. This game would be the first of two times that they would face each other in the same week, with neither matchup disappointing. Kushner controlled the tempo for nearly the entire game holding nearly a 10 point lead throughout most of the second half, with much of the offensive success being credited to senior Mitch Liebov with a game high 15 points. The Flames were relentless going on a 10-3 run in the final two minutes of the game to lower their deficit to only one point, but unfortunately lost a last-second game winning opportunity as their shot rimmed out.
The following evening had conference rivals, Ramaz Rams and SAR Sting, face off in a highly anticipated battle. Both teams entered this matchup with only one loss on the season, with the knowledge that the outcome of this game could affect the conference standings, so they were prepared to fight until the final buzzer. The game started off in defensive overload with a score of 9-6 in favor of the Sting when half time came around. The second half was a complete takeover by the Sting as they went on a 34-11 run through the final frames and left the Ramaz gymnasium with a victory in their lone matchup of the season.
Wednesday night was packed with entertainment as four games took place. In the opener, the two of the more recent additions to the Yeshiva League faced off as the Waterbury Wolfpack visited the Magen Abraham Kings. This game was a low scoring affair, but was still the Albert Swaid show. The Kings’ senior guard was unstoppable scoring 22 of the Kings 30 points, but the Wolfpack secured the victory by one point. The following game showed Ramaz strike back after a rough loss the previous night, by displaying their powerful defense limiting the visiting Kushner Cobras to only 19 points. The Rams senior bigman Caleb Rosenfeld led all scorers with a crucial 12 points in the victory. While this game was taking place, the TABC Storm hosted the JEC Thunder on their newly finished hardwood for the first time this season. With the gym packed with home fans, the Storm put on an offensive showcase totaling 56 points with many players getting buckets. In the final game of the evening, The Hillel Heat were on fire offensively against the Ohr Yisroel Flames, led by Elliot Braha’s 25 point outburst. Although this victory was only the third for the Heat this season, they are not a team to sleep on as they look to continue heating up in the final stretch of the regular season.
Thursday night featured two key matchups, starting off with the Kushner Cobras visiting the Ohr Yisroel Flames. After a memorable near-comeback against the Cobras earlier in the week, the Flames were determined to be victorious this time around, but the Cobras had other plans. Throughout the first three quarters of the game the Cobras built themselves a 15 point advantage but, unlike last time, the Cobras understood to not let up in the final frame. They ended up outscoring the flames 25-12 in the final, leading the Cobras to victory. Kushner senior Sammy Maryles led all scorers with 24 points to help put the Cobras on top. In the nightcap, Western Conference powerhouses, Frisch Cougars and SAR Sting, faced off in a pivotal matchup. The Cougars were playing without star bigman Ben Haber who was still sidelined from an injury suffered in a previous victory against MTA, but despite being at a disadvantage, the Cougars were determined to achieve success. This determination was on display throughout the early minutes of the game as the Cougars jumped out to an early 11-0 lead, but SAR fought back to regain the lead and would not look back. Frisch battled to get back into the game, but was never closer than two points throughout the rest of the way as SAR secured the important victory.
Sunday featured a four team tournament between Ramaz, Waterbury, North Shore and HAFTR. The tournament style was single elimination with consolation games. The tournament started off with HAFTR surpassing North Shore, while Ramaz beat Waterbury in a nail biter. Waterbury went on to beat North Shore in the consolation bracket, while HAFTR became the victors of the tournament by defeating Ramaz.
As another exciting week of Yeshiva League basketball comes to an end, stay tuned for next week’s midseason update including an in-depth analysis on previous games and future matchups.
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.
