This wasn’t just a semifinal — it was a fight for tempo control, and by the end of it, #3 Frisch walked away with a 51–42 win over #2 Shalhevet and a trip to the Tier I Sarachek Final. Right out of the gate, the Cougars punched first with an 8–0 run, and it wasn’t just one guy — it was the supporting cast announcing themselves. Judah Ness knocked down a couple of threes, Noam Grossman did exactly what he always does — get left and finish — and suddenly it was 12–5 Frisch afte

STANDINGS: Marvin Azrak: 19-2 Zachary Sicklick: 16-5 Yosef Silver: 16-5 Ari Schopf: 15-6 Oren Glickman; 9-9 Akiva Poppers: 3-1 #18 Beren vs #19 Hillel Akiva Poppers: Hillel has never been to a championship game, but I think they have the group to change that. They aren’t extremely talented, but they are physical and play hard. They’ll keep this game low-scoring and escape with a win. Hillel 39, Beren 37. Yosef Silver: Beren had a great season,  I really like the Beren had an

It was another Shalhevet statement. Instead of the shootout some might’ve expected, it became a defensive clinic as the #2 Firehawks rolled past #7 Flatbush 44–30 to move into the Tier I semifinals. From the jump, you could see the tone Shalhevet wanted to impose. They made life miserable for Aaron Romano, whose offensive rhythm was disrupted and nearly taken away completely by a defense that was disciplined and relentless. Flatbush wasn’t disorganized, but their offense beca

Friday picks: #3 Frisch vs #6 SAR Yosef Silver: Give me the Sting in this one, as SAR ends Frisch’s season twice in upset fashion. SAR 62 Frisch 58 Ari Schopf: Frisch will avenge their Yeshiva League semifinal loss to SAR and Stepner will put up 25+ points in the win. Frisch 60 SAR 54 Marvin Azrak: Stepner takes over. And that’s the difference as the Cougars avenge their Yeshiva League semifinal loss. Final: Frisch 68, SAR 60 Zachary Sicklick: These are both 2 great teams. Fr

Well, so much for the upset. Sorry, I doubted you, Shalhevet. The #2 Firehawks didn’t just avoid it; they shut the door on it immediately, rolling past #15 MTA 71–46 in a game that was never in doubt. Coming in, the thought was if MTA slows it down, turns it into a grind, and lets Gavi Engel control the game, you’ve got a tight, uncomfortable battle for a #2 seed. Instead, Shalhevet flipped the entire premise in about five minutes with their transition play. They came out fly

The #2-seeded Shalhevet Firehawks will face off against the host #15-seeded MTA Lions in a Tier I qualifier on Thursday at 5:30pm in the MSAC. Shalhevet enters Sarachek with momentum under Coach Tim Tucker, having played their best basketball down the stretch to finish their season with a 22-8 record. After a disappointing upset loss to Magen David at last year’s tournament, the Firehawks are hungry for redemption. They are led by Sam Jacobson, a dominant force in the paint a

Note: Akiva Poppers has resigned from the panel as he is now an assistant coach at Ramaz. In his place is MacsLive Associate Producer, Zachary Sicklick.  Wednesday picks: HANC vs. JEC Yosef Silver: These two teams played earlier in the year, but both coaches would tell you that they aren’t putting too much stock into the JEC blowout victory. JEC is a talented team with a few nice pieces. In their playoff game, HANC showed us they can hang with some of the best. I think this g

This one isn’t about the standings. The Yeshiva Macs head into the regular-season finale at 15-0 in Skyline play, already locked into the #1 seed and hosting rights throughout the conference tournament. Across from them? Mount Saint Mary — still searching for its first conference win at 0–14. On paper, this feels straightforward. Yet the regular-season finale is never about paper. It’s about tone. The Macs don’t need Zevi Samet grinding 38 high-stress minutes. They don’t need

This is it. The final battle at the end of what has been a treacherous non-conference journey. The Macs have faced some of the nation's best. They fought #2 Randolph-Macon and then #15 Mary Washington down in Virginia, hosted defending champions #1 Trinity CT, taken a trip to Boston to face then #4 Tufts, notched a win over runners-up NYU, and played an intense rematch against legendary foes, Illinois Wesleyan. Not to mention tough battles against Chapman and Saint Joseph CT.