The Lions middle school boys basketball team achieved a large victory against Ohr Chadash Academy (OCA), at home, on Jan. 5. The final score was 57-25 with the Lions leading straight from the start and maintaining that lead throughout the entire game. Eighth grade student Sam Olin scored 30 points, breaking his all-time personal record of points per game.
The Lions came out hot in the first quarter, quickly securing their lead. Players like Olin and eighth grade student Ethan Rabinovitch scored layups and midrange shots. By the end of the period, the score was 12-6.
The second quarter was a slower-paced progression. At times, OCA’s players were able to slip through the Lions’ defense. Most notably, Caleb Vanderwall had 15 points. He did so by setting up layups, as well as scoring from deep behind the three-point line. However, the Lions still held the lead, 24-15.
The Lions’ defense proved to be effective in the third quarter, preventing OCA from scoring. The score was 51-15 at the end of the quarter.
Although he was proud of his performance, Olin believes that it was ultimately the team’s ability to collaborate that led to their win.
“I’ve been locked-in and we haven’t played in a while so I was excited to play,” Olin said. “I think we played great and we should all be proud of ourselves.”
Finally, the fourth quarter was a matter of keeping OCA contained to fully secure the win. JDS was able to force many turnovers that led to fast-break scoring opportunities. Combined, they had six total steals. Offensively, they were able to use fast and coordinated ball movement to cut to the basket and score on nearly every possession.
The Lions’ head coach Jonathan McClure attributed the victory to the team’s mentality and their ability to rise to the task.
“Just everybody stepping up, everybody being ready to do more; that’s kind of the motto for the rest of our season,” McClure said. “With a couple of guys out, everyone’s got to be ready to step up… defense was also really on point in this game.”
Eighth grade student Jake Forseter also scored a deep three-pointer and contributed largely to the defensive effort, and seventh grade student Lev Kotler scored multiple mid-range shots. Seventh grade student Zach Koplow said he believed “teamwork and communication” were the team’s strongest skills.
“I thought that we played a very good game as a team,” eighth grade student AJ Salz said. “Sam gave us a huge lead scoring point after point.”
Moving forward in practice, McClure aims to focus on the team’s strengths offensively and to continue to sharpen their skills.
“Continuing to move the ball, getting more ball reversals, I think if we can just continue to move the ball, cut hard and take good shots, then we’ll be able to win every game that we play well,” McClure said.
