Memphis Yeshiva Invitational

10-28-2012 | Cooper Macs Wrestle Away 7th Place from YULA Panthers, 61-47

10-28-2012 | Cooper Macs Wrestle Away 7th Place from YULA Panthers, 61-47

By: Shmuel Meir Perl

In the game to decide 7th place in Tier 1, the #8 Cooper Macs found themselves up against the might Panthers of YULA. Cooper won the tip and jumped ahead on a Bryan Itkowitz three-pointer. Then YULA fought back and went on a 4-1 run to tie up the game. Both teams traded baskets, and then Cooper went on another run and took a 10-6 lead. YULA was relentless and went on a 6-0 run led by Levi Saada. YULA kept scoring and jumped out to a 13-10 lead. Bryan Itkowitz led the way for Cooper and hit another three-pointer to cut the lead to three. At the end of the first quarter the score was 16-13 in favor of the Macs.

Bryan Itkowitz of Cooper got the scoring started for the Macs in the second qquarter. After each team traded some more baskets, Osdoba hit a nice jumpshot to give Cooper the lead. Cooper kept pouring it on, and with the help Eli Osdoba, they took a 26-18 lead. Both teams scored to end the first half, but the Macs went to halftime with a comfortable lead of 29-20.

Leron Ryan of YULA scored the first basket of the second half, and he propelled YULA to go on a 7-2 run. YULA continued to score and cut Cooper’s lead to two. With four minutes left in the third quarter, YULA went on another run to take a four point lead. Bentzi Kampf of the Macs had other ideas though, and made a three-pointer to put Cooper within one. Then Bryan Itkowitz followed suit with a three-pointer of his own to give Cooper a two point lead. Then both teams scored to close the quarter, and Cooper clung to a 2 point lead by a score of 39-37.

Bryan Itkowitz made the first bucket of the fourth with another three-pointer. Cooper continued to pour on the points and took an eight point lead. Then after a missed layup, Kampf stole the ball on the other end and scored. With three minutes left in the fourth, the Macs started to pull away. They made free throws, got some stops, and maintained their double digit lead. The final score was 61-47. The high scorer for Cooper was Bryan Itkowitz with 24 points (Itkowitz and Osdoba accounted for 45 of Cooper’s 61 points) and for YULA it was Menachem Solomon with 13 points. The Macs claimed 7th place, while the Panthers fell to 8th place in Tier 1.

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