By Judan Rhine

Varsity Roundup

MTA, 67, Derech HaTorah, 60. The MTA Lions came to Brooklyn thinking it should be an easy win. But they ended up in a war. Even though MTA maintained a lead throughout the second half, Adam Motovich and the Bulldogs kept fighting back. Said Coach Hill after the game, “I know it is a tough loss, but we are improving. Come the end of the season, we may pull off some upsets, so don’t count us out just yet.” Leading scorers: Derech HaTorah, Motovich, 29, and Buzaglow, 14; and MTA, Kluger, 23, and Wildes, 12.

DRS improved its league record to 3—0 with a 47—31 win over HANC. After a tight first three quarters, DRS went on a big run, outscoring HANC 16—3 in the final quarter. DRS was led by Gabe Leifer with 18 points and by strong back-court play from Eli and Yoni Goldberg.

The Heschel Heat, with only nine players in uniform (three injured in civvies) and coming off back-to-back blowout losses on the road, played their best game of the year, defeating a good Hillel team 59—56 at home. The Heat opened a 14—7 lead after one quarter, with a stifling man-to-man half-court defense and some excellent ball movement and shooting against Hillel’s 3—2 zone. Hillel pulled to within six at the half, and the second half was a battle (especially with Heschel losing sophomore guard Jeremy Spiera with an ankle sprain) with Hillel taking a one-point lead late in the fourth period. But the young Heschel team showed great composure and when senior Mor Schindler converted two foul shots and a big 3, the Heat was able to pull out the victory, evening their record at 3+3, all league games. The Heat was led by Jonathan Granowitz and Sam Lippman with 16 and 17 points, respectively, and Grano’s superb defense on senior guard Bibi who had to work hard for every one of his 18 points. He is certainly one of the premier players in the league this year. Schindler finished with 13 for the Heat. The Heat have no league games for three weeks, playing in the Emunah tournament and then trying to add a three-peat in the Weiner tournament in Baltimore. They play Flatbush on the road Monday.

It was a hard-fought game by Rambam who trailed JEC by 15 points early in the game. Rambam had a one-point lead at the end of the third. Costly turnovers and missed shots were the difference in the end. Aryeh Kahn paced Rambam with 18 points and was matched up with JEC’s best player, S. Shulman, for the entire game. It was Kahn’s best overall performance of the season. Jack Ross and Jacob Dubin chipped in with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Final score: JEC 52, Rambam 46.

The DRS Varsity improved to 4—0 in league play with a 57—30 victory over Rambam on Saturday night. DRS dominated the game from the start and was led by Gabriel Leifer with 15 points, and Judah Levine who chipped in eight. Jack Ross had nine points for Rambam. DRS will now participate in the Emunah tournament this week.

TABC defeats Hillel 60—56. After dominating the first half and only leading by 6, Hillel came storming back, but Shua Naor hit some key foul shots down the stretch to clinch the victory for TABC. TABC was led by the scoring of Moshe Brum with 23, Shua Naor with 15, and Tai Gerzberg with 11. Bibi, Anzarouth, and Tobias led Hillel with 22, 15, and 12, respectively.

JV Roundup

MDY’s JV season started the night with high expectations. With most of the championship team from last year’s eighth grade sticking together and the addition of transfer student Steven Haddad and sophomore phenom Ezra Mann, the Warriors were ready for action. The Warriors traveled to North Shore to face a powerful opponent. Early game jitters for MDY put them behind at the end of the first quarter. After MDY settled down, Steven Haddad, “the Microwave,” came alive and at the end of the half, MDY went into the locker room with a one-point lead. Team captain Ezra Mann went on a three-point shooting exhibition to put MDY up by six towards the end of the third quarter. But, in the end, it was North Shore that pulled away to a 56—46 victory. Leading scores: Ezra Mann, 13 points; NSHA, Levian, 12 pts, and Warshaw, 18 pts.

MDY defeats Rambam 49—32. Magen David Warriors JV opened up its home opener vs. Rambam. Ezra Mann, Stevie Mizrahi, and Freddy Nafatali dominated the glass, grabbing every rebound in site (Ezra Mann, 10 rebounds). With the Warriors on defensive lockdown, rookie sensation Elliot Sadaka took over the scoring with a barrage of three-pointers that took MDY into the half up by 12 points. After Rambam started chipping away at the lead and its offense stalling, MDY brought in “the Stopper,” Morris Zarif, who put the clamps on Rambam’s number-one scorer and held him to two points in the second half. With MDY up by only 8 points going into the fourth quarter and Rambam trying to trap on every position, the Warriors kept their cool and pulled this game out with a comfortable 49—32 victory. Leading scorer: Elliott Sadaka, 18 points. Rambam: Noah Aaron had 13 and Sicklick had 12 points.

MTA defeats SAR 40—39. SAR was down 15 in the fourth and came back to tie it until a last-second free throw following a block shot that was called a foul gave MTA the victory. SAR was led by Daniel Wisotsky’s 18 points and Dovie Marcus’s 11.

SAR defeats Kushner 56—51 in a close battle. SAR was up 18 at the half before Kushner made a furious comeback. SAR held on behind Dovie Marcus’s 15 points, Daniel Wisotsky’s 14, and Sammy Sokol’s 12. Kushner’s starting point guard, Rabb, scored 16 of his 23 points in the fourth as part of the furious comeback rally.

League Standings

Boys’ Varsity Basketball

Eastern Division:

DRS (4—0)

HAFTR (2—0)

North Shore (2—0)

YDE (2—1)

Magen David (2—2)

Flatbush (2—3)

HANC (1—2)

Derech Hatorah (1—5)

Rambam (0—7)

 

Western Division:

Frisch (3—0)

Ramaz (5—1)

TABC (3—1)

Hillel (3—2)

JEC (3—2)

MTA (3—3)

Heschel (3—3)

SAR (1—2)

Kushner (0—6)

 

Boys’ JV Basketball

Eastern Division:

HAFTR (2—0)

HANC (2—0)

Magen David (2—0)

Flatbush (1—0)

YDE (2—2)

North Shore (1—1)

Shaare Torah (1—2)

DRS (0—1)

Ezra (0—2)

Rambam (0—3)

Western Division:

TABC (2—0)

MTA (1—0)

JEC (2—1)

Heschel (2—1)

Kushner (2—2)

Ramaz (1—1)

SAR (1—1)

Frisch (0—1)

Hillel (0—4)

YI Basketball League

Attention, all coaches and athletic directors: YI Basketball League is back for another season. Juniors, 6th—8th grade, Intermediate, 9th—10th, and Seniors, 11th—12th. Deadline is approaching. For further information, please contact Judah Rhine.

YU Basketball
Season Preview

A fresh start awaits YU men’s team. The 2014—15 men’s basketball season at Yeshiva University begins with a fresh start. With a first-year head coach in Elliot Steinmetz along with a crop of talented new players and a solid core of returnees, the Maccabees are set for an exciting ride this season.

Steinmetz takes the reins of a team coming off a seven-win season last year and finishing in eighth place in the Skyline Conference standings. He enters the college coaching ranks having spent the previous three years at North Shore Hebrew Academy, where he led the team to a 66—14 overall record and a trip to the Metropolitan Yeshiva High School Athletic League championship appearance the past two years.

This season, Steinmetz inherits a unit with an abundance of returning talent, which includes senior Benjy Ritholtz (West Hempstead, HANC). Last season, Ritholtz became just the third student-athlete in Yeshiva University history to earn the prestigious College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Capital One Academic All-American Award for excellence on the hardwood and in the classroom. Last season, the 6’3” Ritholtz averaged 14.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, while shooting a team-best 35.3 percent (48 for 136) from behind the three-point line.

Another key returnee to the Maccabees is senior Shelby Rosenberg (Woodmere, HAFTR). The 6’4” Rosenberg, who is also a member of the Maccabees’ men’s golf team, saw action in 20 games last season and averaged 6.0 points and 4.0 assists per game.

Also back on the team this season is sophomore Eli Mamann (Boca Raton, Fla., Weinbaum). Last season Mamann, a 6’ 5” sophomore forward played in 10 games and logged 24 total minutes.

Junior Shaje Weiss (Edison, N.J., JEC/RTMA) is also back from last season’s team. A natural athlete, the 6’ 4” Weiss averaged 0.7 points and 1.6 rebounds per game while logging 7.3 minutes a contest.

Another key returnee this season is sophomore Jordan Hod (Teaneck, N.J., Frisch), who in 25 games last season averaged 1.3 points and 1.1 rebounds per game.

Yosef Rosenthal (West Hempstead, Rambam Mesivta) is also back this season. Last season the 6’ 2” senior guard averaged 4.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.

Eytan Potash (Teaneck, N.J., Frisch), a junior, is also back this season after averaging 0.5 points and 0.6 assists per game in 2013—14.

A host of newcomers are joining the fray this season and include Joseph Ammar (Miami, FL., Hillel), Michael Berg (New York, NY, Ramaz), Gabriel Bram (E. Brunswick, NJ, TABC), Ethan Gipsman (Poway, CA, Southern California Yeshiva), Isaac Mirwis (Houston, TX, Beren Academy), David Moskovich (New Rochelle, NY, Yeshiva High School for Boys), Yisroel Solomon (Los Angeles, CA, YULA), and Mordechai Weiss (Edison, NJ, Rae Kushner Yeshiva).

A grueling schedule awaits the Maccabees in 2014—15, which starts on the road with a game at Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. this Sunday. In addition to that, Yeshiva will play a pair of games, one at home and one on the road, against each team from the Skyline Conference. The Maccabees will also square off against tough non-conference opponents from around the region including Hunter College, the City College of New York, Montclair State, and Lehman College. The home-opener is slated for Thursday, November 20 against Connecticut College.

Women’s Basketball set for exciting season. The 2014—15 Yeshiva University women’s basketball season is set to get under way as the Maccabees look to build off its hard-fought seven-win season from a year ago.

Yeshiva opens its 2014—15 campaign Saturday evening as the Maccabees will compete in the Cheryl Warren-Powers Memorial Tournament hosted by Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts. Yeshiva will face Suffolk University in the opening round on Saturday at 8:00 p.m., and will play against either the host Lyons or Plymouth State on Sunday at either 1:00 or 3:00 p.m.

This season, the Maccabees welcome back five players from last season’s team, which includes senior guard Stephanie Greenberg (Cedarhurst, HAFTR), who is coming off a season where she led the NCAA Division III in steals per game (4.3), while averaging a team-high 17.8 points per game, en route to being named a Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) all-conference player.

Also back is junior Julia Owen (Seattle, WA, Northwest Yeshiva) who had a phenomenal first season with Yeshiva. In 11 games, she averaged 13.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. She missed a chunk of last season due to injury, but not before being named the HVIAC Rookie of the Week three times early in the year.

Another player back this season is Ester Kerzner (Houston, TX, Beren Academy) who played in 10 games last season and averaged 1.2 points and 1.1 rebounds.

Eliana Levy (Houston, TX, Beren Academy) also returns to the team for 2014—15. Last season she played in 14 games and averaged 0.7 points and 1.9 rebounds per game.

Another returning player is Rachel Mirsky (White Plains, NY, Yeshiva High School for Girls). In 18 games last season, she averaged 4.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game.

The new players on the team in 2014—15 expected to make an impact include Alyssa Greenberg (Cedarhurst, HAFTR), Yael Anna Hausdorff (West Orange, NJ, Rae Kushner Yeshiva), Simee Rosner (Woodsburgh, HAFTR), and Dina Rubin (Lawrence, SKA).

Following the season opening tournament, Yeshiva will play in a number of competitive games, which includes one each against foes from the HVIAC as well as tough match-ups against members of the Skyline Conference. Other games on the schedule include games against teams from the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) and New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC). v

Judah Rhine is co-director of MVP Boys Basketball Camp and has been coaching youth basketball for 30+ years. He can be reached at mvpbasketballcamp@gmail.com.

 

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