By Aryeh Young, Special to JTNews
Northwest Yeshiva 70, Puget Sound Adventist 68
After a heart-breaking overtime loss to Seattle Academy, the 613 JV boys were hungry for a victory.
Fighting a press the entire game, the 613s were tired early on and had trouble keeping up with Puget Sound’s quick execution on offense as they fell to an early 10-point deficit. Nevertheless, the 613s fought hard to stay in the game, with strong early offense coming from Moshe Fox, Jason Okrent and Aryeh Young. Despite strong offense, a lack of defensive rebounding by the Yeshiva and second-chance put-backs by P.S.A., the Sharks slowly widened their lead.
Down 16 points, with only two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Yeshiva caught fire. With less than four minutes remaining in the game, Yeshiva had come back to earn its first lead of the game, with key baskets from Moshe Fox and Ari Grashin. Grashin then hit a three-pointer from the corner to give Yeshiva a 64—60 lead. This was the widest margin the rest of the way, as both teams fought for the advantage.
Yeshiva was able to hold the lead, despite a tenacious Sharks defense, and a roaring home crowd. With 19 seconds remaining, the game was all tied up and the Yeshiva called time-out. With 9.2 seconds left, Ari Grashin was fouled and hit two free throws, giving Yeshiva a 70—68 lead. Despite the key free throws, the game was not over.
P.S.A. freed open their top outside shooter, who had already burned the Yeshiva for 25 points, and with 5 seconds left, but his shot rimmed off, into the hands of Nathan Walton, who was then fouled. Though his free throw was off the mark, Jason Okrent, who had been a rebounding machine the entire game, added one more rebound to his total for the night, pulling down the biggest one of all, as the clock expired.
The win was definitely the biggest of the season for the JV boys, as they played their toughest competition of the season, but rose to the level in a terrific come from behind victory. In a team effort, four players finished in double digits, as Jason Okrent led the 613s with 16 points, while dominating the glass on both ends of the court. Ari Grashin added 15, including three crucial three-pointers in the last quarter. Moshe Fox put together, by far, his most dominating game of the season, finishing with 12 points, while Aryeh Young added 11 and Danny Strassman contributed 7.