11-3-2013 | Macs Get Caught Up in Storm, Fall 49-43

11-3-2013 | Macs Get Caught Up in Storm, Fall 49-43

By: Tani Finkelstein

The Cooper Macs took on the Weinbaum Yeshiva High School Storm in the Tier 2 5th place matchup. Citron scored the first bucket for Weinbaum, but the Macs responded with an 8-0 run. Macs big man Bryan Itkowitz was stellar in the post, and the home team Cooper Macs looked like the better team throughout the quarter, getting 5 points from both Itkowitz and Isaac Graber. The score at the end of the quarter was 12-4, Macs in the lead.

In the second quarter, Itkowitz continued his stellar play, making a fancy, guard-esque lay-in. Weinbaum fired back, however, forcing turnovers and going on an 11-0 run, which gave them the lead. Weinbaum had the momentum on their side until Graber drained a three-pointer to put the Macs back in the lead. The Macs got another three-pointer from Bentzi Kampf, but Weinbaum stayed put and stayed within two. The score at the end of the half was 23-21 in favor of the Macs. Graber finished the half with 8 points for the Macs, and forward Doni Baratz finished the half with 8 points for Weinbaum.

Weinbaum started off the third quarter with a 6-0 run to take the lead. Both teams scored some more and the score was tied for most of the quarter. Weinbaum took the lead for a bit but then hot-shooting Graber tied it back up. Mordi Book then hit a buzzer-beater three-pointer for Weinbaum to put them up by 3. The score at the end of the quarter was 37-34 in favor of the Storm.

In the fourth quarter, the score was very close, with the lead going back and forth. Graber continued his hot-shooting, but with a three-pointer from Mordi Book, Weinbaum went up by 4 with 3 minutes to go. Weinbaum had the momentum and with 30 seconds left in the game, it was three point game, with Weinbaum still in the lead. The Macs turned it over and could not tie it back up. The Macs were then forced to foul and Weinbaum hit their free-throws to clinch it. Weinbaum won it, 49-43. The high scorers for the Macs were Isaac Graber, who had 12, and Bryan Itkowitz, who had 15. Doni Baratz was the high scorer for Weinbaum, scoring 14 on the game.