TABC STORM too much for CESJDS LIONS. The Lions fall 46-38!

In game 1 of the TIER I bracket, the #2 TABC Storm faced off against the #7 CESJDS Lions. The Lions came out energetic with intensity and quickly went on a 7-0 run with tyler Farkas scoring 5 of those points. They started off fast-paced,pushing the ball really well and it showed up on the scoreboard. However, they soon lost their lead just as quickly as they gained it. The Storm caused multiple turnovers and converted on the other end of the floor. They finished the quarter scoring ten straight points, and boasted a 10-7 lead at the end of the first.

The Storm carried over their momentum from the first quarter, into the early second quarter. Starting point guard for the Storm, Ari Kaminetsky, got into early foul trouble and the team was forced to take him out of the game for a while. This caused the Storm to slow down their pace, and it allowed the Lions to edge their way back into the game and keep it close. Despite Kaminetsky’s foul troubles, The Storm’s Zevi Samet was able to keep the lead for his team. He scored 11 first half points and brought his team to a 22-15 half time lead.

In an attempt to keep up their intensity, the Storm came out of the break in their infamous 1-2-2 full court press to start the second half. It worked for a while, and they got a couple of steals, but the Lions began to break it consistently, so they backed off. The Lions picked it up a notch in the second half with forward Ariel Gershman catching fire. They cut down the Storm’s lead and were down 4 points going into the final quarter of the game.

The Lions went back and forth with the Storm throughout the fourth quarter and kept it fairly even. Foul trouble again became an issue for the Storm when one of their best players, Yoni Mann, committed his fourth foul of the game. Once again, the Storm’s Zevi Samet was able to keep the lead for his team. Things got even worse for the Lions when their point guard, Brian Epstien, was a bit too aggressive and fouled out of the game. Down by 7 with a minute left, the Lions were in need of a game changer. With 30 seconds left, Ariel Gershman gave them new hope hitting a deep three-point shot at the top of the key. He cut the lead down to four, but there wasn’t enough time left to cut down all the way.

The Storm won with a final score of 46-38. The high scorer for the Storm was Zevi Samet with 18 points. The high scorer for the Lions was Ariel Gershman with 13. The Storm advance to the final four of the tournament and will face the winner of the Shaare Torah/De Toledo game in the semi-finals Saturday night while the Lions will play in the Tier I consolation bracket.

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