DRS holds off TABC in OT to claim MYHSAL varsity title

The #3 DRS Wildcats raced out to a huge 1st half lead but needed extra time Sunday to beat the #5 TABC Storm 66-63 to capture the school’s third MYHSAL varsity championship.

Joe Aaron scored 24 points and Tzvi Tsaidi added 21 as the Wildcats (29-3) won their 15th straight game and denied the Storm (19-5) in their first ever championship game. The Wildcats previously won the league title in 2013 and in 2016 when Gabe Leifer led them to an undefeated season.

Dovid Saks opened the scoring with a 3-pointer for the Storm but it wasn’t until the 2nd quarter that TABC would score again as DRS reeled off 18 straight points. The Wildcat lead twice reached 17 points in the quarter but the Storm scored the final five points to trail by only 30-18 at the half.

With the first seven points of the 3rd quarter, TABC got to within five and then another Saks triple made it 34-33. But two Aaron 3-point plays and a triple from Tsaidi in the closing minutes made the Wildcats cushion 43-35 heading to the 4th.

A Tsaidi bucket extended the DRS lead to nine at 46-37 but from there the Storm’s big man Eyal Kinderlehrer took over, scoring 15 points in the quarter including a rare trey. His final points were a pair of free throws to get TABC to within 53-52.

Michael Solomon hit two free throws for DRS to extend the Wildcat lead to 55-52, but Yonah Mandel hit a corner 3-pointer with :30 left to get TABC even for the first time since 3-3. DRS held for a last shot but turned the ball over in the final seconds and TABC’s half court shot missed to send the game to overtime.

DRS dominated early in the extra session, scoring the first eight points on single baskets by Solomon and Tsaidi and a pair by Yitz Bennett. Five free throws by TABC got them to within three but Aaron all but sealed it with a pair of free throws with :20 left.

Kinderlehrer finished with 24 points for TABC, Akiva Borgen added 14 and Mandel had 11, but none scored in overtime.

DRS heads to the Sarachek Tournament as the #3 seed with an opening round matchup against #14 Frisch. TABC will be seeded 4th and will play #13 Fasman Yeshiva.

Chai High - National Top 18

Jewish Hoops America
Final National Top 18
March 10, 2025
Games through March 9

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

1.SAR/Bronx,NY…………………………………………26-2……………………..1
2.Frisch/Paramus,NJ…………………………………19-2……………………..2
3.Shalhevet/Los Angeles,CA ………………….17-11……………………..4
4.North Shore H.A./Great Neck,NY……….26-5…………………….3
5.Tanenbaum CHAT/Toronto,ON ………….24-3…….………………6
6.YULA/Los Angeles,CA………………………….21-13……….……………9
7.SKA/Hewlett,NY………………………………………17-6………………………5
8.Hebrew Academy/Miami Beach,FL…….22-9………….…………14
9.Barrack H.A./Bryn Mawr,PA…………………..10-8…………..…………8
10.Milken/Los Angeles,CA…………………………12-14……………………11
11.Ida Crown/Skokie,IL……………………………….17-10……………………..7
12.Ramaz/New York,NY……………………………..10-10……………………12
13.Maimonides/Brookline,MA……………………12-9…………………….16
14.Katz YHS/Boca Raton,FL………………………,,12-5…………………….17
15.Ilan/Deal,NJ……………………………………………..12-9……………………..13
16.Flatbush/Brooklyn,NY…………………………….13-14……………………15
17.Beth Tfiloh/Pikesville,MD……………………….13-12…………………….18
18.Rochelle Zell/Deerfield,IL……………………...16-11……………………..10

2025 Berman Invitational - March 7-9, 2025

March 9

Championship

SAR 93 Maimonides 61

Tournament MVP Liv Solomon scored 33 points and Ava Cohen and Nava Bousbib added 21 each as the #1 Sting (26-2) closed out the season with their 13th straight win and a tournament title. JHA leading scorer Leah Kaplan led the #16 M-Cats (12-9) with 46 points - totaling 90 in two Sunday games..

Semifinals

Maimonides 79 Fuchs Mizrachi 62

Leah Kaplan scored 44 points to lead the #16 M-Cats (12-8) into the championship game.

SAR 65 Berman H.A. 31

Play-in Game

Berman H.A. 41 Ma’ayanot 34

March 8

Round robin

Berman H.A. 53 Ma’ayanot 47

The host Cougars (19-12) rallied from nine points down in the first half to get their first win of the tournament. These two play again to determine the 4th semifinal team.

SAR 70 Maimonides 58

Liv Solomon scored 28 points, passing 1,000 for her career, and the #1 Sting (24-2) got their 11th straight win and secured top seed in the semifinals. Ava Cohen added 16 points and Nava Bousbib had 10. Leah Kaplan scored 24 points for the #16 M-Cats (11-8).

March 7

Fuchs Mizrachi 51 Ma’ayanot 38

Maimonides 68 Berman H.A. 39

Leah Kaplan led the #16 M-Cats (10-7) with 23 points, Lizzy Muzin added 13 and Eden Taieb had 12. Dana Lazar had 11 points for the Cougars (18-12) and Sara Schoenfeld added 10.

SAR 56 Fuchs Mizrachi 37

Liv Solomon led the #1 Sting (23-2) with 23 points.

Maimonides 76 Ma’ayanot 30

Leah Kaplan scored 33 points and Eden Taieb and Lizzy Muzin added 12 each to lead the #16 M-Cats (11-7).

Sarachek 2025

The seeds and opening-round matchups are set for the 32nd annual Red Sarachek Tournament at Yeshiva University, scheduled for March 26-31.

The YULA Panthers, the defending champs, 9-time Sarachek winner and #1 in the Jewish Hoops America National Top 25, top the field of 20 teams. It may be the deepest field in the tournament’s history with at least 14 of the top 22 ranked teams and for the first time, 8 MYHSAL playoff teams.

For the second time, the tournament tips off on Wednesday night with a play-in game. Brooklyn rivals Magen David and Flatbush will square off to see who will be the #10 seed.

Thursday winners enter Tier 1. The top 4 Thursday losers get a bye into Tier 2. The other 4 Thursday losers play the 17-20 teams on Friday, with the winners filling out Tier 2 and the losers going into Tier 3.

This year’s tournament returns the Tier 1 MVP (YULA’s Alex Gabbay), Tier 2 MVP (DRS’ Joe Aaron), 1st Team All Tournament player (Shalhevet’s Aiden Bitran) and five or six 2024 all-stars.

1.YULA/Los Angeles,CA
2.Shalhevet/Los Angeles,CA
3.DRS/Woodmere,NY
4.TABC/Teaneck,NJ
5.SAR/Bronx,NY
6.Berman H.A./Rockville,MD
7.North Shore H.A./Great Neck,NY
8.Hillel/Ocean,NJ
9.Ida Crown/Skokie,IL
10.Magen David/Flatbush
11.MTA/New York,NY
12.H.A. Montreal/Montreal,QU
13.Fasman Yeshiva/Skokie,IL
14.Frisch/Paramus,NJ
15.Katz YHS/Boca Raton,FL
16.Mesivta/Bala Cynwyd,PA
17.Valley Torah/Valley Village,CA
18.Fuchs Mizrachi/Beechwood,OH
19.Farber Hebrew Day/Southfield,MI
20.Maimonides/Brookline,MA

Opening Round Matchups - March 27

10:00 am - #8 Hillel (19-10) vs #9 Ida Crown (18-5)
11:30 am - #7 North Shore H.A. (18-15) vs #10 Magen David (21-10) or Flatbush (13-13)
1:00 pm - #2 Shalhevet (20-13) vs #15 Katz YHS (15-12)
2:30 pm - #1 YULA (24-13) vs #16 Mesivta (19-5)
4:00 pm - #5 SAR (21-7) vs #12 H.A. Montreal (14-3)
5:30 pm - #5 Berman H.A. (31-7) vs #11 MTA (19-6)
7:00 pm - #4 TABC (19-4) vs #13 Fasman Yeshiva (15-7)
8:30 pm - #3 DRS (28-3) vs #14 Frisch (9-10)

National Results - Boys - March 4-8, 2025

March 8

YESHIVA LEAGUE

DRS 60 Magen David 58

Joe Aaron’s reverse layup with :05 left gave the #3 Wildcats (28-3) their 14th straight win and sent them to the MYHSAL championship game, where they will take on #5 TABC on March 16. Aaron led DRS with 24 points and Gabey Spodek added 14. Josh Chabbott scored 25 points for Magen David (21-10) and Phil Sherr had 16.

March 7

WEST

Granada 62 Denver Jewish Day 59

The 23rd seeded Tigers (8-11) led the #10 seed by 6 points entering the 4th quarter but could not hold on in the opening round of the CHSAA 1A state tournament.

March 6

WEST

Kim/Branson 63 Denver Academy of Torah 35

The 27th seeded Wolves (10-9) fell to the #6 seed in the opening round of the CHSAA 1A state tournament.

March 5

NORTHEAST

Bancroft 77 Gann 72

The 6th seeded Red Heifers (15-8) fell to the 3rd seed in the quarterfinals of the NESPAC Class C Large School tournament.

MIDWEST

Hinckley-Big Rock 72 Ida Crown 52

The #8 Aces (18-5) led until late in the 2nd quarter but fell in the IHSA 1A Somonauk sectional semifinals. Avi Okner led Ida Crown with 15 points, Judah Well added 11 and Avi Meyer and Ayden Mishkin each scored 10.

YESHIVA LEAGUE

TABC 46 North Shore H.A. 35

The #5 Storm (19-4) will play in their first-ever varsity championship game after dominating the second half and avenging last year’s loss in the quarterfinals. After leading by just 2 points at the half, TABC built up a 10-point lead as the #13 Lions (18-15) didn’t score until there were three minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Akiva Borgen had 16 points to lead TABC and Yonatan Faber added 10. They will play the winner of the DRS-Magen David semifinal.

March 4

MIDATLANTIC

New Hope 81 Berman H.A. 76

Alex August scored 27 points to lead four players in double figures for the #6 Cougars (31-8), who rallied from 14 points down in the final three minutes but could get no closer than two. Ezra Sushner added 15 points, Eli Teitelbaum had 14 and Itai Rozmaryn scored 11.