In the closing minutes of the CESJDS girls middle school basketball game against the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy Cougars, it seemed as if the Lions were going to win at 25-24. During their next possession, the Cougars scored again and the Lions could not keep up with their aggressive and fast-paced plays for the remainder of the game.

Over the course of the game, the Lions took a lot of shots, but often got unlucky and missed their putbacks, resulting in many turnovers. The face-off between the arch-rivals started slowly with both the Cougars and Lions taking many shots in the first quarter, but making few points, with only a 5-3 score at the end of the quarter.

The pace of the game picked up drastically during the second quarter with many steals and fast breaks. The Cougars scored the first points of the quarter with a mid-range jumper. From then on the game went back and forth with many lead exchanges. Coach Brett Kugler was out sick, so Athletic Director and girls varsity basketball coach Becky Silberman took his place.

“I think that our second quarter was the best quarter because we got rebounds, especially offensive rebounds,” Silberman said.

The Lions took the lead when seventh-grade captain Shani Schwartz scored on a fastbreak layup, making the score 8-7. At the end of the quarter, the Lions were holding on their largest lead of the game, with the score at 14-9.

The Cougars quickly pulled ahead in the third quarter, starting when number 15 Maayan Zakheim hit a three-pointer. They gained a four-point lead, but the Lions stayed in the game. While the fourth quarter got off to a slow start, Schwartz helped the Lions get the lead.

Almost halfway through the quarter, Schwartz and seventh-grader Dalia Offer closed the gap. Offer made two free throws, and the Lions trailed the Cougars by one point. Schwartz put the Lions up one with two minutes left in the game, putting the crowd on their feet, but the Cougars scored six quick points and regained their lead, all within a few seconds.

“We worked really hard, but sometimes we didn’t work hard enough. We weren’t playing our 100% tonight,” Offer said.

Offer used to go to Hebrew Academy and had to face off against some of her closest friends, which made the game harder for her.

“It’s hard to play 100% when you’re playing against your best friends. Everybody that’s there you know personally and have spent time with,” Offer said.

While the Lions may have played hard, the Cougars outplayed them, and the Lions got their second loss of the season. They go into their Jan. 7 game against Grace Brethren with a 4-2 record.