MDY Warriors Outmatch Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy RAMS, 71-12

In the history of the Cooper Invitational, there has never been a #16 seed which beat the #1 seed. The Hyman Brand Rams, making their inaugural appearance at the Cooper Invitational, took the court to try and become the first to ever accomplish that feat. The Warriors came out in a press that the Rams were rarely able to beat. But when they did beat it, they converted. Addison Brand racked up 5 points in the first quarter off of fastbreaks. The Warriors enter the tournament a bit short-handed, as their best player, and one of the best players in the tournament, Albert Nsiri, is out with a broken wrist. Despite his injury, the Warriors were still able to get off to a strong start and finish the quarter with a 30-5 lead.

The Warriors continued to pull away from the Rams in the second quarter, as foul troubles haunted big man Gavi Glickman. In a highlight play of the game, 6’5 center Joe Sultan poured salt into the wound of the Rams. The Warriors got off on a fast break and passed it ahead to Sultan who had a clear path to the basket. He rose up and slammed down a two handed jam. In the process he was fouled, and he completed the 3-point play. The highlight sparked the Warriors to finish the quarter with a 54-8 lead.

In the second half, the Warriors slowed down the pace on offense while not allowing anything on defense. They ran a motion offense and ran out the clock as much as possible. The Rams continued to compete even though they had a minimal chance of turning the game around. They continued to fight hard in hopes of getting seeded higher in the Tier II bracket. The clock continued to run down in the fourth quarter until it reached double zeroes. In the end, the Warriors were too much for the Rams, with final tally being 71-12.

The missing Albert Nsiri wasn’t a problem for the Warriors today, but we’ll see if it becomes an issue as they advance deeper into the Tier I bracket. The Rams hope their efforts today pay off for them tomorrow in Tier II. The high scorer for the Rams was Addison Brand finishing the game with 8 points. The highe scorer for the Warriors was Joe Sultan finishing with 14 points. The Warriors will continue to defend their title against the winner of the Rochelle Zell  Tigers/North Shore Stars game coming up later today.

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