deToledo JAGUARS Claw Past Cooper MACABBEES, 73-21

In the last game of the day, the #14 hometown Cooper Macs, faced off against #3 De Toledo Jaguars. To start off the game, Joel Weinstein hit a contested layup for the Macs, and that got the crowd going wild. It was clear their hard work and conditioning had made a tremendous difference. They were clearly the more energized team on the court, and they fought for every loose ball.  The Macs were able to keep the score close for most of the first quarter. They were able to keep the score close for most of the first quarter…until the Jaguars went on a run. The Jaguars finished the quarter on a 17-2 run and finished the quarter 19-2. 

The Macs may not have seen results on the offensive end, but on the defensive end they gritted and grinded throughout the entire game. They were diving on the floor for any ball they had a chance at and caused more than five defensive jump balls. The Macs had a slow first quarter, but they picked things up a little bit in the second. For the Jaguars, Jonah Dobkin caught fire in the half and had 14 first half points. He led his team to a 53-12 halftime lead. 

The fans saw more of the same in the second half. They did see, however, electrifying sparks that can be promising in games to come. An and-one by Joel Weinstein and a fastbreak block by Shahar Cahana got the fans on their feet. The biggest problem for the Macs in the third quarter was their inability to run the half court offense and their turnovers. It resulted in no points in the third quarter until the final seconds. The Macs passed the ball to Reuben Stein at the top of the key with one second left in the third quarter. He tossed up a prayer, and it was answered. The Macs hoped this would fuel them going into the fourth. Temporarily, it did. They started the quarter on a 7-2 run. Unfortunately, the Jaguars were already winning by too many points for any hopes of a comeback.

The Jaguars won with a final score of 73-21. The high scorer for the Macs was Joel Weinstein with 7 points. The high scorer for the Jaguars was Jonah Dobkin with 18 points. The Jaguars are hoping to win their first ever Cooper Invitational Title and will continue to play in the Tier I bracket. The Macs have their eyes on the Tier II prize, and hope to upset some teams in order to get there.

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