Memphis Yeshiva Invitational

11-5-2016 | Mesivta Mustangs earn first Cooper Invitational Victory, sneak past Jaguars, 57-55

11-5-2016 | Mesivta Mustangs earn first Cooper Invitational Victory, sneak past Jaguars, 57-55

By: Cooper Invitational Staff

The last game of the night was a Tier 2 matchup featuring the #6 AJA Jaguars against the the #7 Mesivta Mustangs. The game started off with sloppy play by both teams, and neither was able to really get into a rhythm offensively. The first basket of the game was not scored until 3 minutes into the quarter. After Shmuel Abraham of the Mustangs got the lid off the basket, more shots started to fall and both teams got into their rhythm.

AJA’s Dustin Dayani attacked the basket early and often, and when he attacked, he got fouled, converted his free throws, or both. He shot an incredible 4 for 5 at the line and helped his team out to a 9-6 lead.

The Mustangs came out aggressive on both ends of the court to start the second quarter by having multiple players finishing baskets to keep their team in the game. With strong play by the Mustangs, they were able to bounce back, going on a 10-0 run to grab a 20-17 lead. Their comeback was lead by Abraham who seemed to score however he wanted to. As he got hot, so did the rest of his team, who hit 3 consecutive 3 pointers, with 2 of them coming from 3 point specialist Mordechai Volpin and one coming from Ben Shoshan. Both teams battled hard, but at halftime, Mesivta was up 28-23. Mesivta’s Abraham led his team with 10 points at the half, while AJA’s Dustin Dayani led his team with 10 points.

Halfway through the 3rd quarter, offense seems to be the only thing each team is playing as the score continues to go up. Atlanta’s ben Glinsky proved to be a very big factor in the game with some very impressive shooting. He scored 8 points in the 3rd quarter alone, including two 3 pointers and a jump shot to bring his team within 3 points of the Mustangs. The score was 40-37 going into the 4th quarter.

Mesivta’s Abraham took over the game for his team while Atlanta’s Dayani tried his best to take over the game for the Jaguars. With 3 minutes left in the in the game, Atlanta was still on the losing side, but was fighting tooth and nail to stay alive.

Dayani led his team back with a three-pointer and a layup to bring the game within one point and sharpshooter Glinsky hit two clutch free throws to tie the game 52-52 with just 52 seconds left to go in the 4th.

Abraham came right back and stole the ball from Dayani and hit a layup to take a 2 point lead with 11.9 seconds left. He then came through in the clutch again by stealing the inbound pass and then hitting one of two from the line making it a three point game for the Mustangs. Finally, Volpin sealed the deal for the Mustangs with two more free throws, giving them a 57-55 win over the Jaguars. Shmuel Abraham led the Mustangs with 25 points, while Dustin Dayani led the Jaguars with 22 points. The Mustangs will face Fasman Yeshiva in the Tier 2 5th place game, while the Jaguars will play the Kadimah Chargers and try to avoid finishing in the Cooper Invitational basement.

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