Milken Community School WILDCATS defeat Posnack Jewish Day School RAMS 48-46!

David Posnack Jewish Day School Rams, the #6 seed, faced off against the Milken Community School Wildcats, the #11 seed. The Rams started the game off with the ball and with great movement and a quick three-pointer. Both teams wanted to win this game, and both were playing really strong and physical. Mathew Darwish of the Wildcats is only 5”8, but made up for his height with his great agility and strength with the ball.

The Rams started the game off with faced paced movement and clean shots. The game got very physical very quickly, and the refs weren’t shy with calling fouls. Both teams wanted the win, and already in the first quarter, both fought powerfully. After a quick timeout halfway through the first quarter, the Wildcats came back in with good passing, and waited patiently for a good shot. Their coach, Thomas Blunt exclaimed from the sidelines, “GOOD, I like it!” Tied 7-7 in the last minute of the first, the tension rose. But, the Wildcats ended the quarter up, 11-9, despite the tension.

The intensity showed no sign of slowing down at the start of the second quarter. The teams were tied up 11-11 for the first few minutes, with no show of either team letting up. As the quarter progressed, the Rams picked back up, bringing the score up to 16-13. But the quarter proved to be in either team’s hands. Both teams continued to move the ball and play strong. With 2 minutes left, and the Rams down by two, neither team was letting up, and the game was super close. The Wildcats came in strong and did not back down, ending the second up 24-21. Both teams had the skill, strength, and agility to win, the question was, would the Rams come back in the second half, or would the Wildcats rip them of their Tier One spot?

The second half started with the same intensity as the first half, but with more at stake. Down by five, the Rams coach, Marquise Kiffin, reminded his team, “We are in it.” The Rams proved they were in it to win it in the third. The game was close, but the Wildcats could not be stopped at the three point line. The Rams did not let the score darken their spirits and continued to play hard, but couldn’t seem to get more points up. Despite their struggle on offense, the Rams defended strongly and pressed the Wildcats. Max Jacobs of the Rams kept applying himself and pushed to get points up. By the end of the third, both teams were getting tired and the game was slowing. Gideon Greenberg of the Rams played hard till the very last second with a block on the last shot, and ended the quarter with the Wildcats up 38-31.

The Wildcats started the fourth quarter with 6 players on the court, earning them a technical foul. The technical did not start the fourth off well for the Wildcats creating tension on the court. Meanwhile, the Rams were making their well needed comeback bringing the score to 38-35, with the Wildcats still up by 3. With the Wildcats all shaken from the technical foul, and the score super close, their coach reminded them to “Swing the ball and be patient.” There were only minutes left of the game, and the teams were neck and neck. Jonathan Rhein on the RAMS tied up the game 41-41. The tension rose and Jaden Shir of the Rams was at the line for free throws. He made the first one, which brought the score to 42-41. Then Aaron Dayan sank a three for the Wildcats putting the Wildcats up, 44-42. Then the Wildcat’s Daniel Kohanim, hit a shot giving the Wildcats a two point lead at 46-44. Then Jaden Shir on the Rams hit two free throws tying up the game again. Kohanim, bucket put the Wildcats up by two, 48-46. With only three seconds left, the Rams had the ball, but on the inbounds pass, it got blocked by Ryan Khorsandi. Although Kohanim was on the line and missed both free throws, the Wildcats still took the win in a nail-biter, 48-46, stripping the Rams of their spot in Tier 1.

The leading scorer for the Wildcats was Daniel Kohanim with 10 points, and the Rams were led by Gideon Greenberg with 19 points.

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