11-5-2015 | YHS Storm Breeze by CJHS Tigers, 61-39

11-5-2015 | YHS Storm Breeze by CJHS Tigers, 61-39

By: Tani Finkelstein

The opening game of the 9th annual Cooper Invitational pitted the 8th seed Yeshiva High School Storm against the 9th seeded Chicagoland Jewish High School Tigers. The Storm started off with a boom, with Ethan Lasko converting on an and-1 play on the first possession. Immediately following, the Storm picked up a steal and dropped in another bucket. That set the tone for a half filled with forced turnovers and lay-ins for the Storm.

The Tigers simply could not get into their flow with the ferocious defense of the Storm bothering them on every possession. Steal after steal, hail-mary pass after hail-mary pass on the break, and the Storm accumulated a double digit lead early on. In a very fast paced half, with the possession changing nearly every second, the Tigers were overwhelmed by the Storm’s ferocious defense and countless fast-break lay-up conversions. At the end of the half, the score was 39-19, in favor of the Storm. Elias Attias and Ethan Lasko led the Storm with 14 and 10 on the half, respectively, while Brian Silverstein and David Vayngart led the Tigers with 5 apiece.

It was the same storyline in the second half, with the Storm getting consecutive steals on the first two possessions after halftime. They continued to kill the Tigers on fast-break conversions. The Tigers were playing tough defense, but could not come close to containing the Storm on the break. Ethan Lasko heated up with 10 points alone in the third quarter. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the game was sealed, with the Storm on the brink of a 30-point lead. In a game where the Storm dominated the whole time, the final score was 61-39. Ethan Lasko and Elias Attias both finished as the high scorers for the Storm, with 18 points each. Eli Nasatir finished with 8 points for the Tigers.

The Storm will continue on in Tier 1 and will face the DRS Wildcats, while the Tigers will move into Tier 2 play on Friday.