11-7-2015 | NSHA Stars Move into Tier 2 Championship Game, Defeat Or Chaim Knights, 47-35

11-7-2015 | NSHA Stars Move into Tier 2 Championship Game, Defeat Or Chaim Knights, 47-35

By: Ezra Cooper

The first Tier 2 semi-final game of the night featured the #2 Yeshivat Bnei Akiva Or Chaim Knights against the #3 North Shore Hebrew Academy Stars. The tip went to the Knights due to a violation on North Shore on the tip off. Both teams started off sloppy, as there were turnovers on both ends. North Shore started the scoring with a 3 pointer by Ari Warshaw. The next possession, Jordan Hakakian put up a layup to give the Stars a 5-0 lead. The Knights, from across the border in Toronto, were held off the board through 5 minutes of play until Armando Abitbol hit a 3 pointer to make it 8-3. Towards the end of the quarter, Bendayan converted on and-1 opportunity to make it 10-8. With 20 seconds left in the 1st quarter, Mitchell Hutt of Northshore hit a 3-pointer to make it 13-8 in favor of the Stars going to the 2nd quarter.

In the 2nd quarter, both teams started off slow. Neither team scored in the first 2 minutes of the quarter. Both teams fouled often, and both teams were in the bonus early in the second quarter. However, both teams failed to convert on their free throw opportunities. As the fouls piled up, neither team could muster a field goal. Rather, it was free throw after free throw. As the game slowly went on, the Northshore Stars began to pull away. At the end of the half, the Northshore Stars led 24-13. Yaakob Bendayan led all scorers with 7 points at halftime.

In the 3rd quarter, both teams started off with quick buckets. The Knights were playing a full court man, but they failed to create turnovers. With 5 and a half minutes left in the 3rd, the Knights cut into the lead to make it a 9 point game. The score went back and forth as Northshore took a 31-19 lead with three minutes to play in the 3rd quarter. Towards the end of the quarter, Yaakob Bendayan went up for a dunk, but was fouled. At the end of the 3rd quarter, Northshore led 34-25.

In the 4th quarter, the scoring started off slow once again. With 6 minutes left, Vilinsky hit a big layup to make it 36-27 Northshore. The Knights cut into the lead, but the Stars answered right back. It was 38-29 with 5 minutes to play. With 3 minutes left, Jordan Hakakian scooped and scored to extend Northshore’s lead. With 2 minutes Vilinsky converted an and-1 to extend Northshore’s lead to 44-31. As the game was winding down, Northshore converted their free throws and secured a 47-35 win. The high scorer was Yaakob Bendayan from the Knights with 19 points. The leading scorers for the Stars were Aaron Valinsky & Michell Hutt with 10 points each. The win puts the Stars into the Tier 2 championship game, while the loss moved the Knights into the Tier 2 consolation bracket.