Sarachek Tournament is Back!

The SAR Sting will be the top-seed next week when the Bernard “Red” Sarachek Tournament returns after a two-year hiatus.

The seeding was announced tonight on MacsLive. Sarachek is the largest Jewish high school basketball tournament and this year’s 29th annual event will be the biggest yet, with 24 teams.

The top 5 is rounded out by Valley Torah at #2, TABC, DRS and Shalhevet and the tournament includes 17 of the teams ranked in the Jewish Hoops America National Top 25.

This year’s tournament runs from March 24 to March 28 and will have 10 Yeshiva League teams, the largest contingent ever. Yeshivat Mekor Chaim from Baltimore is making its first-ever appearance, making it the 59th school to participate since the tournament began in 1992.

Shalhevet, winners in 2018 and 2019, will seek to become the first school ever to threepeat at Sarachek They would have been the top-seed in 2020 but the tournament was cancelled after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, which caused its cancellation last year as well.

The additional teams necessitated a change in the tournament format, with three tiers instead of four and a slightly higher percentage of teams having a shot at Tier 1 than in the years since the tournament expanded to 20 teams in 2009.

The competition tips off next Thursday morning with the top 16 seeds vying to qualify for Tier 1. The final 8 seeds will then compete on Friday against the losers from Thursday’s games to qualify for Tier 2. The losers of those games will play in Tier 3.

The Tier 1 quarterfinals are also on Friday, making it the first day in the tournament’s history to feature 12 games - though two more such days will quickly follow on Sunday and Monday.

With the same five-day window and no games late Friday afternoon through Shabbat the 52-game tournament must include more games away from the Max Stern Athletic Center than in the past.

SEEDING

1.SAR Sting/Bronx,NY
2.Valley Torah Wolfpack/Valley Village, CA
3.TABC Storm/Teaneck,NJ
4.DRS Wildcats/Lawrence,NY
5.Shalhevet Firehawks/Los Angeles,CA
6.Frisch Cougars/Paramus,NJ
7.Ramaz Rams/New York,NY
8.Flatbush Falcons/Brooklyn,NY
9. Katz YHS Storm/Boca Raton,FL
10.Magen David Warriors/Brooklyn,NY
11.Yavneh Bulldogs/Dallas,TX
12.Ida Crown Aces/Skokie,IL
13.YULA Panthers/Los Angeles,CA
14.Fuchs Mizrachi Mayhem/Beachwood,OH
15.MTA Lions/New York,NY
16.Berman H.A. Cougars/Rockville,MD
17.HAFTR Hawks/Lawrence,NY
18.Hillel Heat/Deal,NJ
19.Maimonides M-Cats/Brookline,MA
20.Mekor Chaim Cyclones/Baltimore,MD
21.Beren Stars/Houston,TX
22.SoCal Yeshiva Hawks/San Diego,CA
23.H.A. Montreal Heat/Montreal,Quebec
24.Mesivta Mustangs/Bala Cynwyd,PA

OPENING ROUND

Thursday, March 24

10:00 - #1 SAR (14-1) vs #16 Berman H.A. (14-10)
11:30 - #7 Ramaz (16-4) vs #10 Magen David (12-6)
1:00 - #6 Frisch (14-6) vs #11 Yavneh Dallas (24-4)
2:30 - #8 Flatbush (11-10) vs #9 Katz YHS (10-6)
4:00 - #3 TABC (17-4) vs #14 Fuchs Mizrachi (15-4)
5;30 - #2 Valley Torah (32-4) vs #15 MTA (9-6)
7:00 - #4 DRS (12-3) vs #13 YULA (4-16)
8:30 - #5 Shalhevet (26-9) vs #12 Ida Crown (12-7)

Check out MacsLive.com and follow on Twitter @MacsLive and @JHAHoops for full coverage throughout the tournament.

National Results - Girls/Boys - March 9, 2022

Girls

YESHIVA LEAGUE

SKA 56 Ramaz 52

The Sonics (13-1) held off the Rams (14-8) to win their ninth straight game and advance to the final, where they will play Five Towns rival HAFTR. Naomi Sigman led SKA with 20 points. Leila Sakhai scored 28 points for Ramaz. HAFTR and SKA split their two games this year.

Boys

MIDATLANTIC

Berman H.A. 60 Yeshiva of Greater Washington 30

Erez Epstein scored 15 points to lead the #18 Cougars (14-10).

National Top 25

Jewish Hoops America
National Top 25
Week of March 7, 2022
Games through March 8

Team……………………………………………………..Record……….Votes………Prev

1.SAR/Bronx,NY (3)……………………..……..……14-1………..272…….…..…2
2.Valley Torah/Valley Village,CA ……...30-4…………247…….….,,.6
3.DRS/Lawrence,NY (6)…………………………12-3………..246……………1
4.Shalhevet/Los Angeles,CA ………..…...26-9…….….237………….3
5.Ramaz/New York,NY……………………...…..16-4……....…230…….…….4
6.TABC/Teaneck,NJ … ….………..…….……....17-4……......226……...…..5
TieFrisch/Paramus,NJ …………………….………14-6.………226……………7
8.Posnack Jewish Day/Davie,FL………….14-5…………..177…………..8
9.Yavneh Academy/Dallas,TX……………24-4………...…170…………..10
10.Flatbush/Brooklyn,NY………………………11-10……………168..…..…...9
11.Magen David/Brooklyn,NY …..………..12-6…………….156……..…..10
12.Milken/Los Angeles,CA…………………..13-10………..…151………..….12
13.Jewish Day School/Rockville,MD….…13-7………..…144………..…13
14.Rochelle Zell/Deerfield,IL…………………18-4……….…142……...…..14
15.Katz YHS/Boca Raton,FL……….…………10-6……….….117………….15
16.Northwest Yeshiva/Mercer Island,WA..18-8……..…89………..19
17.Ida Crown/Chicago,IL……………………….12-7………..….…82…….….16
18.Berman HA/Rockville,MD…………………13-10……………77.….…...17
19.MTA/New York,NY………………………………9-6………………71………..17
20.Denver Jewish Day/Denver,CO……..17-3………60……….25
21.Hebrew Academy/Miami Beach,FL….11-11……………44……….21
22.YULA/Los Angeles,CA………………………4-16………...….37……….24
23.Fuchs Mizrachi/Beachwood,OH………15-4………………36…………25
24.YDE/Brooklyn,NY…………………………….….9-9………...……32…….....20
25.HAFTR/Cedarhurst,NY…………………….…9-11……………25…..……22

Others Receiving Votes: Waterbury Yeshiva, 23; Hillel, 20; Southern California Yeshiva, 17; Beren Houston, 15; HA Montreal, 14; Fasman Yeshiva, 12; Maimonides, 7; Gann, 6.

National Results - Boys - March 8, 2022

CALIFORNIA

Scripps Ranch 68 Valley Torah 54

The 16th-seeded Wolfpack (30-4) saw their dream run end against the #2 seed in the CIF Division 4 Southern regional final, denying them a trip to Sacramento for the state championship game. Johny Dan, JHA’s leading scorer, led Valley Torah with 22 points, and finished the playoffs with 268 points in eight games, 33 points per game. Ethan List added 12 points and Noam Mayouhas had 11.

YESHIVA LEAGUE

Frisch 56 DRS 55

In the last quarterfinal, a furious comeback by the #1 Wildcats (12-3) came up short when they missed a layup off an inbounds pass with :01.9 left. It was the fourth straight win for the #7 Cougars (14-6) who led by as many as 15 in the third quarter. Johnny Levine scored 21 points and Ben Haber added 13 for Frisch, who will play Ramaz in the all-West Division semifinals. Isaac Solomon (22 points) and Ezra Dubin (17) led the Wildcats, who had won nine straight since they last lost before Thanksgiving.

National Results - Girls - March 8, 2022

CALIFORNIA

Shalhevet 62 Victory Christian 52

Arielle Grossman hit four of her five 3-pointers in the second half en route to a game high 24 points as Shalhevet (27-9) became the first Jewish team to win a regional final and advance to a California state championship game. Yalee Schwartz added 14 points and Talia Tizabi had 11 for the Firehawks, who will play NorCal regional winner San Domenico in the CIF Division 5 final on Friday in Sacramento.

YESHIVA LEAGUE

HAFTR 60 Frisch 56

Thee Hawks (17-3) overcame a 9-point deficit early in the 3rd quarter to beat the Cougars (13-5) and advance to the championship game. Ruthee Rosner led HAFTR with 22 points and Megan Spivak added 14.