By Joshua Fogel
The Tier III championship was a hard fought game, as Beren Academy took on IDA Crown for the title. During the first 3 minutes of the game, Ida Crown went off to a 10-0 run. Ida Crown’s offense proved to be dominant, as they held a 24-8 advantage after the 1st quarter of play. At the start of the 2nd quarter, Beren amped up their defense by transitioning into a full-court press. The press proved to be effective, as Beren went on to a big run during the quarter. A big and-1 from Akiva Garner and a 3-pointer by Ariel Diner helped fuel Beren’s 15-5 run during the quarter, bringing the score to 29-23 Ida Crown. During the last 2 minutes of the quarter, Ida Crown responded by going on a run of their own, and with the help of a 3-pointer by Jordan Benditzion and a charge taken by Nerya Miller, they held a 36-23 halftime advantage.
The first minutes of the 2nd half were closely contended, as the score went to 44-29 Ida Crown. Beren Academy was able to get the offense going again, as they broke out for a huge 10-0 run bringing the game to within 5 points; however, this would be the closest Beren came to tying the game. Josh Gultz drilled a 3-pointer to end Beren’s run; however, Ariel Diner sunk a 2-point buzzer beater for Beren to bring the 3rd quarter to an ending score of 47-41. Beren outscored Ida Crown 18-11 during the quarter.
Jordan Benditzion started off the 4th quarter for Ida Crown with an old fashioned 3-point play, as Ida Crown went off to a 13-4 run during the quarter. Akiva Garner drilled two 3-pointers during the late minutes of the game; however, it was not enough, as IDA Crown ran away with the 70-56 win for the Tier III championship! Benny Albom and Ben Miller led Ida Crown’s offense as the top scorers for the team.
