Home Sweet Victory: Maccabees Rally to Beat MTA Lions 61-44

The Home Team, Cooper Yeshiva High School Maccabees, took on the Marsha Stern Talmudic Academy Lions in an intense Tier 2 battle. The Lions started the game hustling and fighting for the ball. Cooper wanted the game just as much as they did, hoping to bring home a win for their fans. The game was very close at the start of the first quarter, but the Lions picked up in the last few minutes. Cooper was struggling to keep up resulting in the Lions ending the quarter up by 6, 12-6.

There was still hope for Cooper at the start of the second quarter, but their lack of rebounding continued to hurt them. Lions’ Nochi Book, number 1, had 10 points in the first half, of the team’s 15 points. Wearing 23 for the Maccabees, Benny Freiden kept them in the game hitting 3 threes. The Lions powered through and kept up both defensively and offensively, and ended the second quarter up by 9, the score, 27-18.

The Maccabees came into the second half looking like a brand-new team. They came in with intensity, drive, and a real intent to win, and being down wasn’t stopping them. Within minutes they had steals after steals and brought the score up 27-26, leaving them only down by 1. The Lions were still getting easy second-chance baskets as their lack of boards plagued them. Maccabees’ Yosef Vanderwalde, played tough in the third quarter with drives to the basket and vital blocks.  The game was too close for either team to even blink. Jonah Siegel, number 10 on the Maccabees made all the right passes in the third quarter allowing his team to score crucial points closing up the Lions’ lead. The third quarter was a total flip from the first half for the Maccabees, with the quarter ending Lions up, 37-34.

The Cooper Maccabees dominated the fourth quarter, bringing the score up 41-37 within minutes. Jonah Siegel, a mere Freshman for Cooper, stole the ball, scored important points for his team, and played strong despite the fouls against him. The fan section was wild, boosting the morale of Cooper and creating pressure for the Lions. The Maccabees were on fire by the middle of the fourth quarter, they were up by 11 with only 2 minutes left. Yosef Vanderwalde, number 35 for the Maccabees got almost every rebound and had 11 points just in the second half. Wearing Number 2 for the Lions, Doniel Baron was their lead scorer this game with 14 points. Benny Freiden, number 23 for the Maccabees was the lead scorer for his team with 24 points. Jack Kamp also contributed with 11 points in a great team effort. Adam Felsher added 3 points. Avi Becker turned in a tenacious performance and was a monster on the boards. Ilan Lennon added his first points of the tournament scoring an emotional two foul shots.  Rafi Goldkin added two points despite playing tough D and getting into foul trouble. Daniel Kahane came so close to adding his second three pointer of the tournament. And meaningful minutes were added by Ethan VanderWalde, Eli Weisfogel, and Yitzchak Rubin. The Maccabees had a full turnaround in the second half of this game, bringing home a monumental win for the Cooper Yeshiva Maccabees, the final score, 61-44. GO MACS!!

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