HAFTR HAWKS Claw Past CESJDS LIONS, 54-46

The Friday tossup game in the Tier 2 bracket featured the #4 CESJDS Lions and the #5 HAFTR Hawks. Both HAFTR and JDS came in ready for an intense back and forth game. HAFTR’s Ness Salem scored the first points of the game in the form of a three pointer. Throughout the first quarter, HAFTR played very safe, turning over the ball very few times. This allowed them to take many shots with a few of them going in. HAFTR ended the quarter up by a score of 14-9.

JDS came out strong in the second quarter, with Cyrus Blumenthal hitting a three-pointer to bring the game within 2 points. JDS’s defense was impeccable in the second quarter, not allowing any points aside from foul shots in the first four minutes of the quarter. After a couple of buckets, JDS had taken the lead by 2 with 4 minutes left in the half. Cyrus Blumenthal had a great first half, with four 3-pointers for a total of 12 points. After an incredible performance, JDS ended the half up 22-18.

The second half started out slow as HAFTR tried to climb their way back to a lead. Ness Salem hit a critical three-pointer when his team was down 5 to bring the game within reach. At the end of the quarter, HAFTR went on a five point run to put them in the lead by 3 points. To end the third quarter JDS’s Cyrus Blumenthal hit a deep buzzer beater 3 pointer to tie the game up 35-35 going into the fourth.

HAFTR started the 4^th quarter looking to pull off the upset as Ness Salem scored his 22nd point of the game, putting HAFTR up 2 with 5:30 left in the game. Jakob Lipsky of JDS quickly responded with a floater, tying up the game once again. Jacob Salem then set out to single handedly carry his team by scoring 5 straight points, putting the score at 42-37 with 4 minutes left. Despite JDS’s Caden Mont hitting back-to-back threes in the last minute of the game, JDS was unable to overcome HAFTR’s lead. HAFTR won with a score of 54 to 46.

Player of the game was Ness Salem, who carried his team to the win having 31 points and 7 rebounds. Ness had more than half of his team’s points. The lead scorer for JDS was Cyrus Blumenthal with 19 points. With the win, HAFTR moves into the Tier 2 semifinals while JDS is moves into the Tier 2 consolation bracket.