The second matchup of Friday’s four-game slate in the Max Stern Athletic Center will see the #4 seed, Shalhevet Firehawks face off against the #5 seed, TABC Storm. Both teams are coming off hard-fought wins on Thursday, Shalhevet beating DRS 57-50 and TABC beating Berman 63-51.
Shalhevet looked like it was headed straight to the Tier II bracket, but DRS came ready to play following their Play-In victory over Frisch. DRS took a 3 point lead into the 4th quarter, but the Firehawks stepped up on defense, allowing only 7 points in the final frame as they knocked off the Wildcats.
Shalhevet is looking to advance to their 6th Semifinal game in 7 tournaments. (Photo Credit: Ezra Rosenfeld)
TABC played a strong offense against Berman, but their inability to handle the Cougars’ press for much of the game prevented them from blowing the game wide open. Berman kept it close and trailed by 5 heading into the 4th, but TABC was able to hold on and win by 12.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
The Firehawks are led by Aiden Bitran, who scored 24 points in their win over DRS. Look for him to have another strong performance on Friday as well as Jacob Kilberg, who added 20 points of his own in Shalhevet’s Sarachek opener.
For TABC, Eyal Kinderlehrer absolutely dominated Berman inside the paint, as he scored 37 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in the Storm’s win. TABC appears to have the size advantage over most teams in the tournament, and the Storm will be hoping for Kinderlehrer to repeat that performance.