In a Tier I Consolation game at the Max Stern Athletic Center, the Magen David Warriors defeated the Yavneh Bulldogs 66-62 in an OT thriller. It was a very close game throughout, with no team ever leading by more than five, and the Warriors were able to come out with the victory after the extra four minute period.
It was a very hard-fought first quarter, with Magen David scoring the first bucket after a couple of offensive rebounds by Asher Melamed. Noah Ohayon then scored the next five points to give Yavneh an early lead and they led 12-8 at the end of the first.
Magen David came out hot in the second quarter thanks to incredible shooting by Jack Cohen, as he scored their first nine points of the quarter and 11 of their first 14 as part of his 22 point game to give the Warriors a 26-25 lead at the half.
The third quarter was a back and forth affair, with the teams trading buckets and neither able to get separation from the other. Yavneh took the lead late in the quarter and Melamed got a buzzer beating put-back to go to trim that lead to 41-40 heading into the fourth quarter.
The fourth was just as fast paced as the third, with neither team able to pull away, and Ohayon came up clutch for the bulldogs, knocking down a deep three with 4.7 seconds left to tie the game. Joseph Cohen then missed a potential game winning runner on the baseline, sending the game to overtime, the first at this year’s Sarachek tournament.
Yavneh jumped out to a four point lead to start OT, but the Warriors kept their cool, scoring the next five points and taking the lead right back. Joey Lati knocked down two free throws with 29.9 seconds left to give the Warriors a 66-62 and they held on to win by that score.
With the win, Magen David will move on to face the winner of the Shalhevet vs Flatbush game in the 5th place game on Monday, while Yavneh will take on the loser of that game in the 7th place game, also on Monday.
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