The Mekor Chaim Cyclones started the game off strong, with Yaakov Meister hitting a three less than one minute into the first quarter. The Cyclones would keep this momentum going, managing to take an 8-0 lead to begin the game. The SAR Sting then finally managed to grab a couple of points, with Jonah Sokal going 2 for 2 on foul shots. Unfortunately for the Sting, the rest of the quarter didn’t go much better, with the Sting falling behind 18-6. Jonathan Rosen went off for the Cyclones, at one point having a run where he scored 9 points himself, while the Sting only scored 2.
The second quarter was where the game got really intense. SAR managed a huge comeback, pushing the score all the way to 24-23 in favor of Mekor Chaim. The Cyclones hit a foul shot to put them up by two, but then, in the final moments of the first half, Andrew Helft hit a 3 pointer to put SAR in the lead for the first time the entire game. The score at halftime was 26-25 SAR.
The second half started incredibly close, with both teams trading shots back and forth. SAR would slowly pull ahead, getting all the way up to a 9 point lead before Mekor Chaim started coming back. The third quarter ended with another 3 pointer from Rosen, bringing the score to 44-41 SAR.
The fourth quarter started well for Mekor, with a quick 2 by Dani Carter bringing the game to 44-43. The Sting and the Cyclones would go on to trade shots back and forth, until the score was 49-48 Mekor Chaim. However, from that point on, the Sting absolutely dominated, pushing all the way to a 59-49 lead. The game continued for a few more intense minutes, but Gabe Sklar and Andrew Helft hit their free throws to clinch the game for SAR. The final score was 66-56.
There were a total of 15 3-pointers that were scored over the course of this game. Jonathan Rosen had 9 of them. The next highest amount by a single player in this game was 2. SAR only scored 3 of them the entire game. His 3-point score percentage was nearly 70%, almost 20% higher than the next best in the game. He ended with 28 points, half of his team’s 56. The next highest by a single player was 17.
With their win, SAR moves on to the Tier I Quarterfinals, where they will face off against Frisch, with the match taking place on Friday at 9:30. Mekor Chaim will go on to face Or Chaim in the Tier II qualifiers at TABC at 12 pm.
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