Aiming to break records, Firehawks headed to Sarachek championship game for fourth straight year
Win would be first-ever consecutive championships in tournament’s 29-year history
LEAP: Above, senior Jeremy Ashegian scores on a layup as Shalhevet beats YULA 46-38 in the first round of the Sarachek tournament Friday at Yeshiva University in New York. The Firehawks went on to defeat the DRS Wildcats on Sunday and will face Mogen David of Brooklyn in the championship game today.
For the fourth year in a row, the Shalhevet Firehawks have advanced to the Red Sarachek Tournament Tier I championship game, which will be played tomorrow Mar. 18 at 11:30 a.m PST against the Magen David Warriors of Brooklyn, N.Y., at the Yeshiva University gym.
The top-seeded Firehawks will be vying for back-to-back Sarachek Tier I championship titles, which no team has ever done before in the tournament’s 29-year history.
Here at home, students will be able to root for their team during school. Officials have set aside two-and-a-half hours starting at 11:40 a.m. for everyone to watch a livestream of the game in the gym.
On their path to the championship game, the Firehawks beat the eighth-seeded YULA Panthers in the quarterfinals, 46-38, in a hometown rivalry matchup 3,000 miles away last Friday afternoon. The game was very close — the Panthers led 21-20 at half — but the Firehawks pulled away late in the fourth quarter thanks to a three-point play by forward Asher Dauer and five pivotal free-throws by guard Zack Muller, who was named last year’s Sarachek MVP. The Firehawks outscored the Panthers 22-12 in the fourth quarter.
In the semifinals, the Firehawks beat the DRS Wildcats 60-41, using a 14-0 run to end the half and power to a comfortable victory.
The No.2-seeded Warriors narrowly avoided an upset quarterfinal defeat against the Maimonides MCATS on Friday afternoon, prevailing by a score of 52-51. But they rebounded Sunday afternoon to beat the SAR Sting 51-37.
Tomorrow’s game will mark the second time in two years that the two top-seeded teams are squaring off in the championship game. Last year, the top-seeded Firehawks beat the No. 2-seeded Valley Torah Wolfpack 53-51 in overtime. The Wolfpack had beaten the Warriors in the semifinals. The championship game can be livestreamed with play-by-play and commentary by YU student broadcasters.
Alex joined the Boiling Point as a staff writer in his sophomore year, rose to Sports Editor in his junior year and is serving as both Sports Editor and Senior Editor this year. Aside from journalism, Alex loves playing and watching sports, flying planes and following the stock market.
