By: Coach Avi Borenstein
The JEC Varsity Thunder was hungry for its first Yeshiva League win in the 2021-22 campaign. Having slugged to a 24-22 loss to open at MTA, only to be followed by competitive games against SAR and Frisch (despite a 34 point performance by Yosef Heller), the Thunder needed to get back into the playoff hunt with a Sunday night win against the Rambam Ravens of Lawrence, NY.
The Thunder was ready for the high flying Ravens from the opening tip.
At half time, the Thunder used ferocious defense and timely scoring to take a 24-10 lead into the locker room.
In the second half, building on stellar defense, JEC went on a 23 point run, and finished the night with a resounding 61-23 win.
This is the second time this season JEC held a Yeshiva League team to under 25 points, for a game.
Leading the JEC effort were Senior PG, Captain Akiva Hess, with 16 pts. Hess has shot 13-15 from the foul line in his last 2 games.
Hess was accompanied by Junior Small forward, Yosef Heller, who contributed 16 points of his own. To Exemplify just how balanced the Thunder’s scoring was , Michael Cornick, just off the injured list had 9 points, 2 blocks and 8 rebounds. Shooting guards Elisha Jooyandeh and Evan Krul (4 assists) each added 7pts, while Yehuda Speyer added 6 points.
Crucial to JEC's success was the dominant glass cleaning of Akiva Sapieka, who snared 22 rebounds.
JEC is now 2-3 overall, 1-3 in league play, and has neighborhood rival Kushner coming up on Saturday night.