By Matthew Kipnis
At the North v. South boys’ basketball game on Thursday, Dec. 6, Great Neck North Point guard Alex Ludwig hit two free throws to cut the Rebel’s lead to five points with one minute remaining. How would the Rebels respond? On their next offensive possession, Sophomore Ben Lee was fouled and went to the free throw line to shoot a one and one. Under the pressure, knowing that if he missed the first free throw he wouldn’t have a chance for the second, he sunk both free throws. Next defensive possession the Rebels got a stop and Lee was fouled again. Back to the free throw line he made two more free throws. Lee went to the free throw line two more times in the last minute, hitting every free throw, going a perfect eight for eight at the line, icing the game for the Rebels as they went on to beat the Blazers 65-57.
The Rebels were able to beat their cross-town rivals in a close game. The Rebels won this game wire to wire (they were never behind); however, it was a tightly contested game.
The Rebels jumped out to an early lead from the hot hand of Junior Guard Dylan Forrester. In the first quarter, Forrester had 8 points and two 3-pointers, as he went on to lead the team in scoring with 15 points. Senior Center Mitchell Finkel recorded a double-double for the Rebels with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Senior James Smith scored 9 off the bench, Senior Brandon B. added 7 and Senior Mark Jason added 6 with 10 rebounds for South. The Rebels’ defense contained the Blazers’ leading scorer, Alex Ludwig, to only 16 points as he fouled out in the final minute of the game.
The cross-town tension between the two schools was evident as each school came dressed in either white (for the Rebels) or black (for the Blazers). The fans were constantly cheering back and forth. Chants were sung from both sides of the bleachers. Teachers and supervisors made sure that the chants did not get too out of hand.
This game was both teams’ first game of the season. The Rebels are now getting ready to take Carey High School on Friday, Dec. 14. Now that the Rebels have their first win under their belt, South hopes to keep its winning ways.
 
 
STATS
December 6, 2012                        1               2               3            4               F
at Great Neck South                  14            13            12            26            65
Great Neck North                        13            8            13            23            57
 
Player                                                Total pts
Dylan Forrester                        15
Ben Lee                                          11
Mitchell Finkel                           10
James Smith                                9
Brandon B.                                   7
Mark Jason                                  6
Gil Weiss                                        5
Brett Kleinberg                           2