To the victor goes the spoils.
In a Tier 1 qualifying game at Yeshiva University’s Red Sarachek Tournament, Los Angeles’ Valley Torah Wolfpack struggled against the Berman Hebrew Academy Cougars. The Wolfpack’s star player, junior guard Meir Dan, played an uncharacteristically off game. But with tenacious defense, Valley Torah trailed by only five points in the closing moments of the game. Senior guard Joey Victor drained a three-pointer followed by his brother, senior point guard Emmitt Victor, hitting a reverse layup to tie the game at 52 and send it to overtime.
Dan came alive in the clutch, hitting a rainbow three and then making an athletic spinning layup, drawing a foul and making the free throw. Valley Torah weathered the storm of Berman’s Alex August, one of the best players in the tournament. In the final seconds of the game, rather than shoot, August made the correct basketball play and passed to an open teammate who missed a three as the buzzer sounded and Valley Torah walked away with a 58-56 victory.
“I had the worst four quarters I’ve ever had in my life, I turned to God; I told him please let me get a good overtime for my teammates,” Dan said on the macslive.com livestream.
With Dan finding his rhythm and the Victor brothers putting the defensive pressure on, plus key contributions from junior forwards Adam Sakoff Ethan R’bibo, Valley Torah will be tough to beat.
On Saturday, Valley Torah, the ninth seed, lost to top seeded DRS, 64-50 . They play Ramaz High School Sunday morning.
Shalhevet Beats MTA
The number two seed Shalhevet Firehawks led from the jump and took a 33-13 halftime lead against No. 15 MTA and won 71-46. Center Sam Jacobson dominated, even when double-teamed, showing off his mid-range jumper, his skills inside and his defensive prowess. He was helped by the outside shooting of Judah Stern and Yakov Liberman.
Shalhevet will take on No.7 Flatbush March 20.
No. 12 Yeshiva University High School of Los Angeles (YULA) lost to No. 5 Ramaz by a score of 47-35 as YULA struggled to stop the inside firepower of Ramaz.
