Red Storm become Tier 2 Champions
at Red Sarachek Tournament!
March 15 – 19, 2007– The Rambam Varsity Basketball team returned from the Yeshiva University Red Sarachek Tournament on Monday night as Tier 2 Champions after four days of intense basketball and a beautiful Shabbaton.
The team arrived in New York on Wednesday night. After a restful night in the hotel and a shiur/ lunch with the MTA team given by Rav Tani Cohen, they were ready to play. The 8 vs. 9 game in any tournament is usually a very good one and this one was no different as the ninth seeded Red Storm took on the eighth seeded Hillel Hurricanes from Miami. Hillel jumped out on top early 9-0 but Rambam closed the quarter on a 7-2 run and trailed 11-7 after one quarter. The Red Storm was able to keep the score at a manageable deficit until late in the game when they finally tied it. In the end Hillel just made too many foul shots as they pulled out a 61-54 victory. Junior Shaya Katz led the way with 16 points, including 3 three-pointers in the second half, and also led the team with 6 rebounds; senior Noah Pottash added 10 points. The loss put Rambam in Tier 2 where they were seeded second. They would have to win three games in a row to take the championship.
The first game was a Tier 2 qualifying match up against the Cooper Yeshiva High School Maccabees from Memphis and it took place at 8:30am on Friday. Perhaps due to the early start the Red Storm came out a little slow against a Cooper team that came into the tournament seeded fourteenth and only led 13-11 after the first quarter. The pace of the game picked up in the second quarter as the offense exploded for 24 points to take a 37-25 lead into halftime. From there the defense held enough and the offense continued to score, led by sophomore Shulie Hochman's 24 points, 13 of which came at the free throw line part of a 29-46 effort by the team at the charity stripe. With the win, Rambam clinched a spot in the Tier 2 semifinals. After the game the team enjoyed a shiur on the topic of the mishkan given by Rav Yosef Blau, mashgiach of Yeshiva University and a member of the Rabbinical Advisory Board of YR.
The Shabbaton, which was put together by the YU office of admissions, brought together 17 of the tournament teams and featured speakers such as Rav Daniel Feldman of Yeshiva University, Ken Jacobson of the Anti-Defamation League and Jonathan Halpert, Head Basketball Coach of the Yeshiva University Maccabees. After lunch on Shabbat, Rav Lubetski gave a shiur for the team just before they went to their rooms for some much needed rest.
The Tier 2 semifinals took place on Sunday afternoon with Rambam taking on the Yeshivat Bnei Akiva Or Chaim, Knights from Toronto. Prior to the game the team was treated to a shiur by Rav Pesach Sommer, Rebbe at MTA and former faculty member at YR. The Or Chaim Knights had entered the tournament as the tenth seed. They had also lost on Thursday, but were coming into this game off of a win, and with confidence. Despite the game being played in the middle of the afternoon the Red Storm seemed like they had not yet woken up as the game got underway and the Knights made them pay. Beating Rambam to every lose ball and rebound the Knights took a commanding 17-8 lead, after the first quarter. The second quarter was much the same, except Rambam was able to score a little more. They trailed 33-22 at halftime. Were it not for sophomore Ari Raskas' exceptional play it would have been even worse. The second half saw a different Red Storm team as they chipped away at the lead and pulled to within 6 points but Or Chaim scored 4 points at the end of the quarter. This put the score at 41-33 heading into the final quarter. Rambam continued to chip away at the lead as Yisrael and Shaya Katz scored back-to-back baskets to open the quarter. However, Or Chaim came right back with two of their own. At the midway point of the fourth quarter sophomores Shulie Hochman and Jeremy Sykes (Skyles) each scored a basket to pull Rambam back to within 4. After a free throw and a Noah Pottash jumper cut the lead to 1, Shaya Katz nailed a three-pointer to give the Red Storm its first lead of the game with just 1:41 to play. Ari Raskas extended the lead to 4 on two free throws, but Rambam sent Or Chaim to the line on two straight possessions. The game was tied. Rambam again turned to Shaya Katz in a tight situation, and he came through once more, as he was fouled going to the basket with just 7.6 left. Shaya made the second free throw to take a 1 point lead, and it was up to the Rambam defense to complete an amazing comeback. As Or Chaim threw the ball in, the defense was all over them, nearly causing a turnover and knocking the ball out of bounds with just 1.9 seconds to play. On the inbounds play the Knights attempted a three point shot that missed, and after some confusion due to a late start of the clock the game was over and the Red Storm advanced to the championship game. Ari Raskas turned in an all-star performance on both ends of the floor as he racked up a season high 10 assists and 6 steals. Shaya Katz led the way in scoring with 14 points including 6 in the fourth quarter.
On Monday morning, the team prepared for the championship game against the Valley Shaarey Zedek Wolfpack from Valley Village, California. The day began with an inspirational d'var Torah by senior Yitzi Schleifer during breakfast. Valley was heavily favored as they were seeded fifth overall coming into the tournament, and not many people gave Rambam much of a chance. This time, however, the Red Storm wasted little time getting into the game as they got out to a quick 5-0 lead. Valley came back to take a 6-5 lead but Noah Pottash scored to give the team a 7-6 lead after the first quarter. The Rambam defense was intense and the rebounding was outstanding despite a major size advantage for Valley. With time running down in the second quarter, and Rambam holding a 17-16 lead, Jeremy Sykes hit a beautiful floater on the baseline as time expired to take a 19-16 halftime lead. The third quarter was played very evenly as both teams scored 12 more points. Rambam held the lead 31-28 at the end of the quarter. In the fourth quarter the Rambam defense turned it up another notch, as they made a run and took an 11 point lead with just 1:19 left to play. The lead turned out to be too much for Valley, and the Rambam Red Storm won the Tier 2 Championship. This was the first championship of any kind for Rambam at the YU Tournament. Shaya Katz again led the team in scoring with 15 and Yisrael Katz added 11 but it was the defense that won this game forcing Valley into 21 turnovers.
At the awards ceremony fallowing the tournament Noah Pottash was named to the tournament all-star team and Shaya Katz was named the Tier 2 Most Valuable Player.
The Red Storm would like to thank all the parents, grandparents, teachers, students, and alumni who came to YU to support the team, as well as all those who were listening back home. A special thanks to Rav Lubetski and family for joining the team on the Shabbaton and for arranging the shiurim.