MacsLive Reporting Services (New York, NY)

It took the #15 Montreal Hebrew Academy Heat an entire half to warm up, but they eventually overcame a sluggish start in a 49-42 win over the #19 Yeshiva Atlanta Lions. The Heat survived a close fourth quarter in a Tier IV semifinal Saturday night at the Max Stern Athletic Center.

Amid many turnovers and end-to-end play, Montreal came out ahead, but not without a fight from Atlanta, who jumped out to a 12-2 lead after a quarter of play. The Heat came out with more energy in the second quarter, narrowing the Atlanta lead to 7 at the half. 

The second half would be where Hebrew Academy really made their run, and Atlanta found themselves trailing halfway through the period.  This was partly due to an odd coaching decision by Coach Jake Burack of Montreal, who called for a free throw practice over a talk in the locker room.  The tactic seemed to work, as the Heat’s shooting performance improved drastically and that shifted momentum away from the Lions. 

Late in the game, with Lions starters Josh Weissman and Yoni Kadosh both having fouled out, Atlanta point guard Myles Ratner kept his team in the game with his dribble drives en route to eleven points. With the Heat clinging to a one-point lead, Montreal’s Netanel Sebbag hit an incredible runner in the lane to increase the lead to three and help his team seal the game late.

With the win, Hebrew Academy will advance to Tier IV Championship against the Columbus Torah Academy Lions on Monday.  The Lions will take on Yeshiva of Virgina in the Tier IV consolation game Sunday night. Coverage of these games as well as the rest of the tournament games being played in the Max Stern Athletic Center will be provided by MacsLive and is available on www.macslive.com.