11-5-2016 | Flatbush Falcons Advance to Championship Game, defeat Milkin Wildcats, 63-47

11-5-2016 | Flatbush Falcons Advance to Championship Game, defeat Milkin Wildcats, 63-47

By: Cooper Invitational Staff

The second Tier 1 semi-final game of the night featured #3 Flatbush Falcons vs. #7 Milken Wildcats. The Wildcats took an early 9 – 2 with aggressive play and tenacious rebounding. Although they were handling things offensively, the WILDCATS found themselves in early foul trouble late in the first quarter, forcing them to back off a bit. This gave the Falcons an opportunity to find their footing. With five minutes left in the first quarter, Flatbush went on a 7-0 run to end the period and tie up the game at 9-9. Louis Zarif and Abie Rosow led the Flatbush push with aggressive play. Rosow dominated the paint snagging three rebounds and rejected a couple of players while Zariff attacked the basket and scored 4 of the 7 points in their 7-0 run.

Early in the 2nd period, the momentum of the Falcons seemed to carry over. They started the quarter on a 11-0 run. Their high energy offense helped them spread the ball for open looks. On the flip side, Milken looked to slow down on offense. They stopped trying to get the ball to the basket, instead relying on the 3 ball, which would not fall for them. In the first quarter their shots were going in, but in the second period, they only had one 3 pointer.

Flatbush played nearly flawless defense, allowing only five points in the second quarter. Their selfless offense tore up the court, and they ended the half with a 26-14 lead.

With the start of the third quarter, Milken came out of the gates fired up and ready to play. Superstar Amitai Afenjar showed that his team would not allow easy baskets with a Lebron-like chasedown block early in the second half.

Flatbush still seemed in control of the game and got a 35-19 lead midway through the 3rd period. Meanwhile, Milken’s Afenjar fouled out with 2 minutes and 47 seconds remaining in the 3rd period. With their star player out and a huge Flatbush lead, a comeback seemed almost impossible. But Milken never gave up and clearly had some fight left making Flatbush earn every point. Flatbush secured a 19 point lead going into the fourth quarter with the score of 50-31.

In the fourth quarter, Milken again resorted to trying to knock down the 3 ball, which remained inconsistent. Although they managed to outscore the Falcons 16-13 in the quarter, ultimately they were unable to hold off the inevitable. Flatbush won by a final score of 63-47 in a very dominating performance. Leading the way for Flatbush was forward Yoel Goldberg who scored 20 points, while Aaron Harouni was the high scorer for Milken with 18 points.

With the win, the #3 seed Flatbush Falcons advanced to the Cooper Invitational Championship game where they will face the cinderella #9 Heschel Heat. The #7 Milken Wildcats will face off against the #4 Cooper Macs in the Tier 1 consolation game.