The Yeshiva League continues to impress with classics-galore and tight finishes in games you wouldn’t necessarily expect to witness much drama. We’ve also got an early taste of our championship contenders moving forward—all that and more on yet another Yeshivah league recap.
VARSITY BASKETBALL TAKEAWAYS:
ROAD WARRIORS:
MDY stayed patient with the ball in their road opener and defeated the HAFTR Hawks 68-62 last Monday. The Warriors helped the lead for most of the contest and hit free throws down the stretch to ice the 68-62 win. Asher Melamed scored 20 for the Warriors, Allie Dweck added 12, and Jack Cohen reached double figures with 10. Superstar Hymie Salem poured in 26 for the Hawks.
FRISCH>TABC
In what potentially will be the game of the year, at least until these two teams meet again, the Frisch Cougars stunned the TABC Storm 73-67 in an OT classic last Monday. Alex Zakheim led the way with 25, and Benjeman Haber added 21 for a Frisch team that overcame the deflation of a Harry Orlinsky game-tying three to send the contest to overtime even at 58. The Cougars are now 4-0 on the season and have attained first place in the MYSHAL.
DEJA VU FOR DRS
The lone loss that the championship-favorites DRS Wildcats suffered two seasons ago was Flatbush in a late-season Sunday Matinee at the Green House. Well, two years later, it was Deja vu as Abie Saada
had 12 for a team-oriented Falcons squad that withstood a 24 point outing from Avi Ivory and hit their free throws down the stretch to maintain their distance and lock up the stunning 50-42 win at the Falcons nest.
KINGS FOR A NIGHT:
The Yeshivah Magen Abraham Kings shocked the reeling HANC Hurricanes from Nassau County 45-38 for their first win of the 2021 campaign. YMA almost notched another victory but saw their comeback attempt thwarted by a 24 piece out of Isaac Tawil of YDE and, despite a 27 point performance by Albert Swaid, fell 61-58 on the road dropping to 1-2 on the season.
HESCHEL FINALLY DEFEATED A GOOD TEAM:
Aspirations were high for Heschel entering the season as the team was ranked #3 in the league by most pundits, yet have struggled against playoff-caliber teams from the get-go. They’ve succumbed to #5 ranked SAR 71-58, the newly organized #3 ranked Ramaz Rams 37-29, the #2 ranked TABC Storm 49-43, and last Sunday were victimized by Elliot Braha’s 23 point performance in a 46-42 defeat to the Hillel Heat, dropping Heschel to not only 2-3 on the year, but the loss of the “Heat” name supremacy for the moment. However, that changed on Thursday night, when Heschel went to Brooklyn and held super-nova Isaac Tawil to eight points in their hard-fought 56-52 win over the 5-2 YDE Thunder. Isaac followed his career-high 56 point outing in a 68–54 road win over Rambam with a minimal performance against the Heat.
THE FALCONS WERE FLYING…
In what was a compelling matchup between two arch-rivals, the Flatbush Falcons and MDY Warriors treated the Brooklynite-laden crowd at the Warrior dome to an instantaneous battle of nutrition and execution for who could call themselves Beasts of the East on the fifth night of Hannukah. Magen David dealt the first blow as Jack Cohen deposited 8 of the 12 first-quarter points to give the Warriors an early 12-8 lead. That would be increased slightly at the break when Allie Dwcek connected on a buzzer-beating three-pointer to send the home crowd into a frenzy headed into the locker room leading 22-16. Points continuously came at a premium, with both teams prioritizing defense over offense, making the 34all scoreline with a minute remaining pretty conventional for all in attendance.
But as the clock ticks, the great teams are the ones that find a way to slow it down, and when fatigue sets in, they rise to the occasion. Unfortunately for the Warriors, this wasn’t the case down the stretch in regulation, as David Sakkal missed two free throws, and Allie Dwcek was unsuccessful on his second heroic attempt from beyond the arc to send the contest to overtime. This gave way for Abie Saideh to play the hero role for Flatbush, as his putback gave the Falcons a 38-36 lead inside the final minute. It set up a frantic climax at 38-37 that saw Dweck heave it down to the court to spot-up shooter Jack Cohen, but his jumper hit back-iron setting off a jubilant Falcons celebration with their rowdy fans.
A few days later, the celebration continued as Irwin Azar dropped 20 points in a 53-43 Flatbush victory over Northshore.
THEN WERE STUNG:
In a masterclass from downtown, the SAR Sting humbled Flatbush 61-42 at the hive led by Benny Euwirth’s 19 points. The Falcons were through outclassed in perimeter play and on the glass.
Varsity Hockey:
STING REBOUND…
SAR(Salanter Akiba Riverdale High School) hockey has rebounded since their streak-snapping loss to Frisch. They defeated MTA 5-4 in OT on a Gabriel Hornblass game-winning goal before eking out a 4-2 win over Kushner, with Morris Dolfman notching the game-winning honors.
SAR improved to 5-1 on the year.
THEN FELL AGAIN…
Just as things were looking up, SAR dropped two straight decisions to MTA (4-2) and the Torah Academy of Bergen County Storm 4-1, making TABC the first team to win at the hive in three years.
BEFORE GETTING REVENGE:
On Saturday night(12/11), in front of a stingy crowd, Judah Hain found the net twice as SAR advanced their early season loss to Frisch with a 5-3 win to improve to 6-3 on the season.
RAMAZ “Rams” JEC & FLATBUSH:
Alex Freilich had five goals, while Ezra Habert chipped in with two goals and six assists as Ramaz rolled past JEC 10-0, with EJ Singer collecting his first shutout of the season.
Days later, Avi went for yet another hat trick, and Habert had three assists in his Flatbush return in Ramaz’s 6-1 win over the Falcons.
WARRIORS FEND OFF FALCONS:
MDY took an early 4-1 lead and were able to maintain it throughout the game, finding themselves up 6-3 with 3 minutes remaining, before Flatbush quickly pulled to within 6-5. The final minute presented frantic hockey with the Falcons looking for the equalizer and the Warriors looking to stave them off, which goaltender Elliot Betesh and the defense did to lock up the win.
Stats:
Joseph Catton had a Hat trick for Flatbush.
Richard Cohen also is a guy you should watch out for, along with Jake Laniado.
As for MDY:
Morris Cohen 2 G
Henry Tawil 2 G
Daniel Beyda 1 G
Abe Cohen 1G
Albert Cohen 5 assists
JV HOCKEY:
The Storm sport a league-best 4-0 record after a 7-3 home thumping of the MTA Lions and 8-3 road win over the SAR Sting, respectively.
JV BASKETBALL:
In a battle of Eastern Conference contenders, the MDY Warriors used a big second half led by Marc Sardar’s end-end play to thrash the Flatbush Falcons 56-36 inside a raucous Warrior Dome before repeating the feat in a 59-43 win over Northshore a couple of nights later and remain undefeated on the season.
MARVS YESHIVAH LEAGUE MAILBAG:
Q: Fantasy Yeshiva League Basketball, who’s your first pick?
A: Probably Isaac Tawil because he’s going to get you at least a double-double while also averaging 25-30 points a game for the YDE Thunder.
Q: Is it time to stop calling the DRS Wildcats championship favorites after their poor start to the season?
A: I definitely wouldn’t put them near the top 5 in power rankings, but I also wouldn’t count them out. DRS is a top-heavy team for a reason and makes adjustments on the fly exceptionally well. Those losses will only fuel them to get better as the season goes on.
Q: Who’s your favorite in Varsity hockey?
A: Without a doubt, TABC, after their convincing road, wins over SAR and MTA.
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