Scheck Hillel LIONS Maul Cooper Yeshiva MACS, 56-11

In the first round of Tier 2, the #3 Sheck Hillel Lions played the hometown team, the #6 Macs.  The Lions came out fast going on a 12-2 run to start the first quarter. Big man, 6’7″ Senior Samuel Taieb made his presence felt everywhere on the court. He dominated the Macs in the first quarter whether it was down in the paint or on the outside. The Macs started to get in a rhythm, moving the ball around nicely, and a crisp pass allowed newcomer Zev Bosin  to hit a smooth layup over Taieb. However, Taieb’s Lions were too much as he led his team to a 12 point lead at the end of the quarter, 14-2.

The Lions defense in the first half completely shut down the Macs and allowed them to jump out to their big lead. This continued into the 2nd quarter.  They caused multiple turnovers, and quickly converted them on the other end. The local fans did have some highlights to cheer about, as hometown favorite, Joel Weinstein sliced through the defense and hit some contested layups. He drew fouls and and-ones. While this may have helped the Macs offensively, their continued sloppy play and turnovers hurt them even more. Alan Berkman led the Lions to a 32-11 halftime lead.

The second half continued the same story. The Lions defense shut down the Macs completely. Hillel switched to a full court press which the Macs were able to get passed most of the time. The only problem for the Macs was their inability to convert after they crossed half court. Whether it was turnovers or missed layups, their lack of consistent play continued to hurt them. The Lions defense shut the Macs down and held them to zero third quarter points. The third quarter has been the Macs worst quarter in both games of the tournament. The Macs energy level was depleted after the first half and they showed little signs of life as they failed to score again in the 4th quarter.  The Lions, Myles Gilbert played lights out in the second half and extended his team’s lead to 42.

It was a hard fought game by both teams, but the Lions came out with the win. The final score was 56-11. The high scorer for the Lions was Samuel Taieb with 15. The high scorer for the Macs was Joel Weinstein with 5.

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