RZJHS TIGERS Extinguish Stars, 57-27

The first game on Sunday morning featured the #6 Rochelle Zelle Jewish High School Tigers against the #9 North Shore Hebrew Academy Stars, in a battle for 7th place in Tier I. Brian Silverstein scored the first points of the game for the Tigers, which was quickly matched by a bucket from Michael Tsor. Grant Primer got hot early, draining threes and attacking the rim with full force. The Stars struggled to stop Primer and get enough good looks on offense. At the end of the first quarter, the Stars trailed 17-6.

In the beginning of the second quarter, the Stars came out strong and cut into the lead a bit, getting some defensive stops and putting points on the board. The Tigers fired right back by forcing turnovers and charging the rack on fast breaks, where they finished strong each time. The Stars tried hard to get past the Tigers’ aggressive defense but were unable to make too much progress. By the end of the first half, the Tigers had earned their largest lead all game, up 28-10. Grant Primer was the leading scorer with 17 points at the half for the Tigers.

The third quarter began with a bucket and a three from Primer, giving the Tigers a 23 point lead as the second half got underway. Primer was unstoppable, single-handedly maintaining the lead for the Tigers through superb shooting. Their defense definitely deserved some credit too, as they were all over the Stars, getting in their faces and forcing turnovers. It took the Stars 6 minutes to finally score in the third quarter, and once they did, they had a nice little run, scoring off of a few layups and threes from Nathan Rabanipour and Ethan Bassalian, respectively. The quarter ended with the Tigers up comfortably, 37-20.

In the fourth quarter, the Tigers came out just as strong, expanding their lead to 26 points in the first three minutes of the quarter. They were in complete control, knocking down shots from all over the court and stopping the Stars with tight defense. The Stars pushed hard at the hand, cutting the lead by a few points as the game came to a close. The Tigers’ won 57-27, earning them 7th place in Tier I. Primer was the leading scorer of the game with 25 points for the Tigers. Eitan Bassalian led the Stars with 6 points.