In a pivotal seeding showdown with significant playoff implications, the JEC Thunder traveled to Deal on Sunday, December 22nd to face the Hillel Heat. Both teams came in looking to put themselves in excellent position to get a home playoff game—and keep their hopes alive of a coveted first-round bye—making this matchup a critical one. JEC controlled the game for the most part, and held off a late Hillel comeback to win 53-50 and improve to 6-2 on the season.
The first quarter set the tone for an intense battle, with the two teams trading baskets in a back-and-forth affair. JEC’s Noam Gottlieb and Aharon Rozehzadeh each put up seven points in the opening period, countering strong performances by Hillel’s Abe Franco and Joe Mizrahi, who scored seven and eight points respectively. The opening frame ended with JEC trailing by a single point, 15-14.
The second quarter saw JEC find its rhythm, fueled by Rozehzadeh’s relentless attack in the paint, including several highlight-reel and-ones. By halftime, Rozehzadeh had tallied an impressive 17 points. JEC’s bench also came alive, hitting four threes in the second, with Yonaton Feit knocking down a couple, Aaron Feuerberg adding another, and Avraham Bobrow hitting a buzzer-beating triple to send the Thunder into the locker room with a 37-30 lead.
JEC maintained control of the tempo in the third quarter, stretching their lead to double digits before Hillel mounted a late push to cut the deficit back to seven heading into the final period. The fourth quarter was a nail-biter as Hillel hit timely shots to trim JEC’s lead to just three points with under a minute remaining. However, the Thunder’s defense held strong in crunch time, coming up with two critical stops to seal a hard-fought 53-50 victory.
Aharon Rozehzadeh delivered a dominant performance for JEC, finishing with a game-high 31 points and 15 rebounds, and dishing out 5 assists. Hillel’s offense was led by Jason Zekaria, Franco, and Mizrahi, all of whom finished in double figures.
With the win, JEC improves to 6-2 on the season, positioning themselves well in the playoff race, and in control of their own destiny for a top-two seed in the conference. Next up is a crucial home matchup on January 9th against the Ramaz Rams, another team vying for a first-round bye. The stakes remain high as the Thunder look to solidify their standing and carry momentum into the postseason. With the loss, Hillel finishes the regular season 6-4, and while they have locked up a playoff berth, the Heat will most likely finish as either the 5 or 6 seed in the west.
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