The Tier III Finals will see the #15 seeded Kohelet Yeshiva Kings face off against the #17 seed Cooper Yeshiva Macs. The Kings are coming into the championship off a convincing 68-40 win against the #19 Ohr HaTorah Thunder, while the Macs are coming into the championship off of a much closer 57-55 win against #20 Kushner Cobras.
The Kings took over their semifinals game right from the start, scoring the first basket and never looking back. They ended the first quarter up 20-7. While the Thunder would get the game back to only a 9-point lead during the second quarter, the Kings never let it get any closer than that. They spent the second half building on their lead, and ended the game with an impressive 28 point victory.
The Macs had a much more intense game against the Cobras. Both teams went back and forth during the first quarter, ending it with Cooper leading 10-9. The two teams would trade shots back and forth, with the score at halftime being 21-20 Cooper. However, the third quarter was all Kushner’s, with them managing to end the third quarter up 44-26, an incredible 18 point lead. However, during the 4th quarter Cooper would go on to pull off an incredible comeback. They would win the game with a buzzer-beater shot by Ben Freiden to take the game 57-55, completing what announcer Marvin Azrak dubbed the ”Mactastic Miracle.”
Kohelet has had a somewhat disappointing tournament run so far. They lost to the #2 YULA Panthers in the Tier I qualifier, and then were upset by the #18 HA Montreal Heat to push them down into Tier III. They won that semifinals match handedly, and will now be looking to carry that momentum to capture the Tier III championship.
Ben Freiden will look to lead his Cooper Macs to a Tier III Championship. (Photo Credit: JJ Stein/Shot.by.J2 On IG)
Cooper has had a solid tournament. They lost a close game to #16 MTA to just miss out on making it into Tier II. Although they almost lost to Kushner, they will be riding high following their insane 4th quarter comeback, and will be looking to take what they learned from that game and use it to win them Tier III.
The Kings will be looking towards their strong players like guards Daniel Benjamini and Chezky Levitt, who both put up impressive performances in their game vs. the Thunder, to help them show up strong against the Macs.
On the other side of the court, Cooper has their own players to watch out for. Guard Jack Kampf is an incredible sharpshooter, and had a key three-pointer during the incredible comeback run of the 4th quarter. However, all eyes will be on guard Ben Freiden. He’s already pulled off a miracle against Kushner. Now, we’ll get to see what he can do against the Kings.
One of these teams is an underperformer looking to salvage their tournament run with a Tier III victory. The other is looking to cap off an incredible miracle run, and only one game remains in their way. This game is sure to be crazy, no matter who comes out on top. You are going to want to see this one!
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