11-8-2014 | HAFTR Hawks Dethrone YULA Panthers 47-36, Advance to Championship Game

11-8-2014 | HAFTR Hawks Dethrone YULA Panthers 47-36, Advance to Championship Game

By: Shmuel Perl

In the second Tier I semifinal of the night, the defending Cooper Invitational champion YULA Panthers faced off against the upstart HAFTR Hawks. The two teams vied for the second spot in the championship game where the winner would face North Shore. Abie Perlow started off the scoring with a nice move in the post to give HAFTR the first points of the game. Perlow hit two free throws and Jon Greenberg made a layup to give the Hawks a six point lead. Noam Posner hit a free throw for YULA, and Daniel Tzion converted a second chance bucket to put the Panthers within three. Both teams scored again, but an athletic put back by Daniel Tzion made it a one point game. HAFTR started to look better going on a 4-2 run, but a turnover riddled final minute kept the score at 12-9 in favor of the Hawks at the end of the first.

Jon Greenberg hit one of two free throws to open the second quarter, after a technical was called on YULA coach Eli Hami. YULA hit a free throw, but Perlow hit a shot in the post. Daniel Tzion hit a shot on the other end, and Daniel Hami made a short jumper to make it a one point game. Then, Shimon Benharroch made a put back layup and Motti Zilberstein took a steal the length of the court to put YULA up three. But the Hawks countered with two quick buckets and took a 19-18 halftime lead.

Jon Greenberg made a layup to give HAFTR a three point lead, but Shimon Benharroch scored on a nice pass from Asher Remer to cut it back down to one. Abie Perlow came back with six points to put HAFTR back up seven. Noam Posner knocked down a jumper, but a Sam Mandel layup kept HAFTR in control. Both teams hit free throws, and Daniel Hami jumper made it a six point game with a minute left. A buzzer beating three by Sasha Stern put HAFTR up 34-25 with one quarter to go.

Benji Neirenberg made a tough shot to start the fourth to put HAFTR up by double digits. Then, Daniel Hami hit a clutch corner three to make it a seven point game with six minutes left. Both teams hit free throws, but a 6-0 run by HAFTR gave them a 14 point lead with four minutes left. YULA battled back, going on a 6-2 run to keep them in the game. Jon Greenberg hit four free throws to seal the game and send the Hawks to the championship game. The final score was 50-38. HAFTR will play against North Shore on Sunday in the battle of Long Island. The high scorer for YULA was Daniel Hami with 10 points and Jon Greenberg led HAFTR with 18 points.