Cooper Invitational

Montreal HEAT frozen and smashed by Cooper Macs, 64-45

The Macs and Heat were both looking for their first wins of the tournament after being bumped down to tier 2 in their first matchups.
The Hometeam Macs know they will need a strong start after a weak first quarter performance in their first game against YULA.

The Macs start off the game strong with a steal and assist from Morris to Osdoba.  The Heat respond when Benisti hits a wide three as the capacity crowd heats up for this wildly anticipated game. Shlomo “Big MoMo” Bosin is a monster on the boards and shows height doesn’t mean you can’t be a big man as he overpowers opposing players who tower above him. The game remains close with less than a minute left in the first quarter, the Heat come back to take the lead by one, 11-10.

Montreal quickly scores to start the 2nd to bump their lead up to 3.  The Macs follow closely as Momo and Sim score to tie. Ethan goes to the line with the chance to take the lead. Morris hits his first free throw to tie, but crashes the lane after missing the second, hits a quick layup to put the macs back in the lead. Another alley-oop from Morris to Simcha gives the fans what they came to see as the game remains tight. With 1:33 left in the half, the Heat are in the lead by 1 point, but a quickly gentle lay in by Kirshtein gives the lead back to the Macs. the lead trades position every play and the half ends with the Heat up by three, 27-24.

As the 2nd half starts, the Macs takes no time seizing control of the game. The contest begins to get heated, with a cooper player fouling out, and the Macs get over the foul limit within the first minute of play. Cooper shows no Southern Hospitality to their guests from the North, and the Canadians in turn show none of their cultural friendliness. Memphis takes over and goes on a 12-0 run with the players feeling the energy from the crowd in the stands. The two minute mark passes and the Macs still have the lead 43-29. Beyer adds to the fun with a break away lay up. The dynamic duo digs Montreal’s grave deeper and deeper as Osdoba and Ethan reveal their true colors with a combined 18 points from both this quarter. The Macs relentlessly add to their score with a 20 point lead and just under 6 to go. The Heat struggle to get any open looks as the macs push harder to add insult to injury. Joel Weinstein and Reuben Stein sub in as the clock winds down. Weinstein getting perhaps the best jump-ball of all time…..twice. Cooper advances to the Tier two semifinals with a dominant win, 64-45.

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