10-25-2012 | #8 Cooper Macs Fend off #9 NCJHS Jaguars, 54-46

10-25-2012 | #8 Cooper Macs Fend off #9 NCJHS Jaguars, 54-46

By: Shmuel Meir Perl

In the most anticipated matchup of the tournament the hometown #8 seed Cooper Macs went up against the #9 New Jew Jaguars. New Jew, one of the returning teams from last year, looked to defeat the hometown favorites. Cooper won the opening tip, but could not score on their opening possession. New Jew scored the opening bucket, but Eli Osdoba hit a layup on the other end. Micah Getzug scored for New Jew, and then Osdoba scored off of his own steal to even up the score. After a couple of missed shots, Osdoba hit a three to put Cooper up by three. Cooper hit some free throws and played some good defense to keep their lead at five. Then Bryan Itkowitz got a steal and scored, and Gabe Goldstein hit a three to give Cooper the 14-4 lead. Eli Osdoba stole the ball and scored, but then New Jew made a layup of its own. At the end of the first quarter, Cooper led 16-8.

Both teams hit free throws to open the second quarter, with Cooper hitting four and New Jew hitting one. Following a steal by Eli Osdoba, Bentzi Kampf made a layup to put Cooper ahead by 13. New Jew then went on a 5-0 run to cut the lead down to eight. Following a rebound by 5’4 center Seth Goldstein, Cooper made a free throw, and then 6’3 power forward Bryan Itkowitz took a charge and scored on the other end. Then New Jew banked in a three, and hit another basket to make it a 26-19 game. Eli Osdoba of Cooper continued to score by driving baseline and making a reverse layup. At halftime the score was 28-19 with Cooper on top.

Daniel Ozer-Ross scored the opening bucket of the second half for New Jew, and on the other end Bryan Itkowitz made a layup. Then Seth Goldstein scored his first points for Cooper, with a little jumper from right below the free throw line. The Jaguars played some very good defense and worked hard on the offensive glass which resulted in a little 5-0 run for them. Ozer-Ross scored again to cut Cooper’s lead to only four points. Edan Evenhaim hit a pair of free throws to make it a one possession game. Cooper finally scored when Eli Osdoba hit two free throws. At the end of the third quarter the score was 35-31 Cooper.

Ozer-Ross scored first in the fourth quarter making two free throws. Eli Osdoba hit two of his own free throws preserving the Cooper lead. Josh Moalmi made two free throws, and Bentzi Kampf scored to make it a 39-35 game. New Jew scored making it a two point game, but then Eli Osdoba scored on a second chance shot. New Jew scored again, but then Eli Osdoba made a layup and kept the lead at four. New Jew made some free throws to make it a 43-40 game. Goldstein, the kid who saved someone’s life at a cross-country meet earlier this year, put his skills to use and saved Cooper by making two clutch free throws. Bryan Itkowitz followed suit and extended the lead to seven. Amid the screaming of the crowd, Ozer-Ross seemed to find his touch, making another two free throws. Micah Getzug also made a pair of foul shots and cut the deficit to only four. Cooper scored again extending their lead to six with one minute left. Cooper sealed their victory with the final score being 54-46. The high scorer for Cooper was Eli Osdoba with 32 points; the high scorer for New Jew was Edan Evenhaim with 13 points. The Macs advance in Tier 1 going up against the Magen David Warriors while the Jaguars drop to Tier 2 and will find out tonight who they will face in the morning.