This past Tuesday night, in the packed new Yavneh gymnasium, the host Yavneh Redhawks took on MDS in the quarterfinals of the boys eighth grade YMSSA playoffs. The game itself, however, lacked much drama. Yavneh, with its suffocating trademark defense raced out to at 37-10 lead towards the end of the second quarter and never really looked back on its way to an easy victory. Yavneh’s balanced attack was led by Amichai Citron’s 19 points, 13 rebounds and 5 blocks, followed closely behind by sharpshooter Eitan Dukas’s 14 points and 8 rebounds, and Danny Weinberger’s 12 first-half points and 3 steals. In a true team effort, over 65 percent of the team’s field goals were the result of an assist, most coming from the deft passing of star guard Max Zakheim and fresh-off-the-DL Akiva Feit, who in limited time still managed to snag 7 rebounds to go with his excellent passing.

MDS was led by Elli Jesselson’s 23 points, though in a losing effort. Up next for the Redhawks in next week’s semifinals is a trip to top-seeded Ramaz. The Ramaz Rams finished the season a perfect 10-0. With a spot in the March 6 YMSSA Championship game on the line, the game will certainly be worth the price of admission.