The first-ever play-in game in Sarachek history saw the DRS Wildcats defeat the Frisch Cougars 52-41, ending the Cougars’ season.
DRS took a 8-7 lead in a low-scoring and turnover-filled first quarter, before Frisch tied the game at 15 with 2:50 left in the half. About a minute later, James Dyckman was fouled from downtown and hit all three free throws to give Frisch the lead. After that, Frisch found their groove offensively and took a 22-17 lead going into halftime.
The DRS Wildcats used a 22-6 second half surge to defeat the Frisch Cougars 52-41 in the maiden play-in game in the history of the Red Sarachek tournament. (Photo Credit: Eidan Horn/MacsLive)
In the second half, DRS came out of the locker room flying, scoring 6 straight points and taking advantage of Frisch in the paint. With 5:30 left in the third, they pulled ahead. As the lead changed hands, Roni Heumann took a technical foul - his fifth overall - with 2:14 left, giving Joe Aaron a chance to take the lead for DRS once again. His shots sparked an 11-0 run to give DRS a 39-28 lead going into the final frame, outscoring Frisch by 22-6 in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, DRS continued to dominate in the paint while suffocating the Cougars with their zone defense. They jumped out to a 14-point lead, but a couple of Dyckman threes for Frisch cut the deficit to 10 with 3:59 left in the game. Frisch’s comeback effort briefly stalled, as Aaron blocked Jared Reich with 2:37 to go, but fired up again as a couple of three-pointers by Max Schachter and Dyckman cut the deficit to 7 with 1:18 to play. Winding down the game, Aaron and Tzvi Tsaidi each hit layups to ice a 52-41 win for the Wildcats.
Joe Aaron and Aiden Buchbinder led the scoring for the Wildcats with 24 and 16 points, respectively. James Dyckman led the Cougars with 15 points, going 4-9 from downtown.
The Wildcats move on to play #4 Shalhevet on Thursday at 2:30 PM at the Max Stern Athletic Center. That game can also be streamed right here on MacsLive.
If even you can't get the animal names straight, maybe it's better for all if you stick to the name of the school.