Fired Up Promotions 48 Platinum Insurance Group 31
Fired Up Rides Hot Start To Win
Zev Namrow scored 21 points as Fired Up Promotions ran out to a double digit lead midway through the first half and kept the pedal down from there, moving to 3-0 with a 48-31 victory over Platinum Insurance. Fired Up dominated the boards, with a 42-26 rebounding advantage, and shared the ball well with 11 total assists.
Platinum Insurance struggled to score most of the game, shooting under 25% from the field and 13% from 3. Noach Schwartz led the way for Platinum with 11 points and 7 rebounds, while Mordi Spero had 8 points and 8 boards and Yoni Gugenheim added 7 & 7. Platinum dropped to 0-4 with the loss, and will look to get back on track next week against M&S Enterprise.
Fired Up also got major contributions from Chesky Lewin, with 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 assists, and Avromi Gartenhaus who finished with 7 points, 11 rebounds, and a game high 5 assists. Fired Up heads into next week’s powerhouse matchup against Councilman Schleifer with both teams having started the season 3-0.
M&S Enterprise 56 Advanced Security 54, OT
Game of the Year Ends On Yudkowsky Buzzer Beater
In the moment it felt like nothing could top Yisroel Luchansky’s game tying circus 3 with 3 seconds left in regulation that sent the game to overtime. But just a few short minutes later Avi Yudkowsky sent his squad into a frenzied celebration after his floater from the left elbow over 3 defenders beat the buzzer and pulled out a crucial overtime win for M&S Enterprise.
Yudkowsky scored 17 of his 26 points in the final 11 minutes of regulation and overtime, as a game that had looked very ugly early on turned into a classic back and forth battle. Advanced Security led 13-3 at the midway point of the first half, with M&S unable to put points on the board for a long stretch. M&S then flipped the script with an 11-0 run that extended into an 18-2 run going into halftime, where they held a 6 point lead. The second half was a completely different story, with the teams trading buckets and the lead.
M&S led for the final few minutes of regulation, with a pair of Yudkowsky free throws with 8 seconds remaining looking like nails in the coffin for Advanced. But following a timeout Luchansky, expecting a quick foul, elevated and took an off balance one handed 3 that banked in. M&S avoided fouling him, but they were unable to get off a shot in the final seconds and the game went to OT.
Overtime was another close stretch, as both teams held leads but neither led by more than 2. Sub Ben Steele hit a pair of free throws in the final minute to tie the game for M&S, and an Advanced miss set up the dramatic final shot.
Yudkowsky added 14 rebounds and 3 assists to his scoring and heroics, while Howie Friedman and Mike Khoshkeraman each added 13 points and 11 rebounds. Khoshkeraman also had multiple steals and was a part of a strong defensive effort from his squad, while Howie Friedman added 4 assists in the win. M&S moves to 2-1 with the victory.
Advanced was led by a strong performance from Yisroel Luchansky, who overcame dogged defense from Steele and Avi Goldstein to finish with game highs in points (27), rebounds (17), and assists (5), with what would have been the shot of the game in just about any other scenario. Avraham Frost had 12 points while Yaakov Rosenblum added 11 rebounds and 4 assists. Advanced drops to 1-2 with the loss.
