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| Bobby Soffer pushes the ball in transition |
Behind a barrage of 3-pointers from Senior Co-Captain Bobby Soffer, Flatbush closed the gap late in the fourth quarter, but the rally fell short and the Falcons dropped the season opener to HAFTR in the opening round of the MDY Pre-Season Basketball Tournament on Tuesday, 9/16, 56-46.
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| Joe Gindi helps position the full court press alignment |
Though the team has a majority of seniors, this game marked the first varsity action for the most of the players on the roster. And, it was clear from the outset that there was a serious case of opening day jitters for this new group of Falcons. The boys found themselves in a deep deficit early, but behind the leadership of Soffer at both ends of the court, and the inspired play from varsity newbies Elliot Beyda and Albert Richter, Flatbush clawed its way back, closing to within one point, 22-21 with under 4 minutes to play in the first half.
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| Allan Maleh converts from the free throw line |
Another bright spot for the Falcons was the effectiveness of the trademark Flatbush full-court press. The pressure applied caused 23 turnovers by the HAFTR offense. But as effective as the press was, the Falcon offense was equally careless with the ball, handing it back to the Hawks nearly as often, committing 20+ turnovers of their own. As a result, HAFTR’s lead ballooned to nearly 20 points in the fourth quarter, before the stellar shooting of Soffer closed the gap late.
The Falcons will look to get on the winning track with a number of pre-season matchups before entering MYHSAL play after the Sukkot holiday break.
Nest Notes:
Bobby Soffer paced all scorers with 29 points, dropping in 7 baskets from beyond the arc. Albert Richter added 8 points for the Falcons. The team shot an abysmal 5-13 from the foul line, a statistic that must improve of the team is to be successful this season.
The Varsity boys return to action on Monday, 9/22 when they travel to SAR to take on the Sting in another pre-season tune-up. Game time is 8:15 pm. The JV will begin its 2014-15 campaign on Tuesday, 9/30, when they travel to DRS for a rematch of last season’s JV championship game. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 pm.