In a thrilling game that will be remembered in MJDSBL history, the YDE Thunder defeated the Flatbush Falcons 54-52 in overtime, in the 8th-grade basketball Wild Card game on Thursday night (2/21), at the Falcons nest.
Flatbush was heavy favorites coming into this game, as they were the defending champions, and had knocked the Thunder out of the playoffs, the previous two years coming into this game.
But when the game started, YDE was the one who came out firing, as they took a quick 14-2 lead, and were up 14-4 after 1, led by Joseph Levys early hot shooting. Flatbush however, showed their trademark resolve, and battled back in the second quarter, to cut the deficit to 24-17 at the break.
In the 3rd, YDE built there lead back up, as their offense was doing just enough to stay ahead of the Falcons, taking a 36-26 lead into the 4th.
There, Ikey Greenstein provided the energy for YDE, as the Thunder built their lead up to 42-30, with the clock inside five minutes, as the final quarter wound down.
Sammy Benun provided the shell- shocked Falcons some hope, as he leads them on a 10-0 run to cut the YDE lead to 42-40, with just about 3 minutes remaining!
Out of their own timeout, YDE came out strong and pushed their lead up to 47-40, as the clock ticked under 90 seconds remaining in the Falcons season.
But that’s when out of nowhere, big man Danny Hanon, caught fire for Flatbush, as he started making shot after shot ( Including Free Throws, where he has lacked consistency in his career) to bring the Falcons all the way back, send and force overtime with the game tied at 48!!!!
By that point, the Flatbush faithful was losing its collective minds, as so were Thunder nation as well! Win or lose, Danny Hanon will forever remember those “MVP” chants as the Falcons made that late comeback.
As the game headed to overtime, it’s important to note that both teams, have had to empty their benches, due to the fact that their core players started fouling out of the game. Guys like Ikey Greenstein for YDE and Ben Falack for Flatbush would be unable to make an impact in this extra frame.
In overtime, both teams continued to play the foul game, as they did at the end of regulation, turning this classic game into a free throw contest!
Ultimately, YDE found themselves up 54-51 with 9.5 seconds to go, and Flatbush sending a man to the line for 3 free throws, which could potentially tie the game, and force double overtime, which would’ve probably blown the roof of the gym!
At the line, the Flatbush player hit the 1st, to cut the Falcons deficit to 54-52, before missing the next 2. However, a Falcon grabbed the board and called timeout giving Flatbush just enough time, to get one more shot off, and win or tie this game with the clock approximately showing just 5 seconds remaining.
Flatbush ran a play, which resulted in a potential game-winning 3 that rimmed out, sending YDE to the final four!
The fans and players allowed the win to sink in for a few seconds out of relief, before spilling onto the Falcons court in jubilation!!!!
As for Flatbush, this team graduates, and will be forced to settle for 1 Championship ring in their Elementary careers.
ITS SEMIFINAL TIME!:
YDE will now travel to the Lions den, where they will go up against a tough HALB Lions team, who is looking to head back to the finals for the second time in 3 years.
As for the other semifinal matchup, the HAFTR Hawks will travel to the Warrior Dome to face the undefeated MDY Warriors, where Magen David will look to head to the finals for the 3rd straight year, and capture that title they have desperately coveted.
Pic Via MYSHAL.com.
PS: Needed to find a pic for this headline, so I settled for this one.
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