On Saturday night, December 2,  the NYHS boys’ varsity basketball team played its first game of the season against Bellevue-based Summit Classical Christian School. 

The team played hard but lagged 20 points behind the opponent for most of the game, ultimately losing 71-43.

 “We’re gonna fight till the end no matter the score,” the NYHS basketball coach Steve Bunin had said. 

The home game, which took place at Seattle Hebrew Academy’s Ari Grashin Memorial Gym, began with Sam Weichbrodt, number 10,  jumping ball for NYHS. 

Both teams played aggressively and worked hard, but the first quarter’s score ended up 21 Summit Classical, 12 NYHS.

“The biggest thing was their effort,” Bunin said. “It didn’t wane, despite getting down.” 

With two and a half minutes left in the second quarter, NYHS was down five and had all the momentum. Then it slipped away when Summit Classical hit crucial points and they ended the quarter with a 3-pointer. The second quarter ended 40 Summit Classical, 27 NYHS.

“We worked really hard as a team and even though we were losing we still hustled and tried extremely hard,” Weichbrodt said. 

After halftime, the third quarter started slowly with NYHS lacking defense outside of the perimeter. Then NYHS started picking it up a bit with Joe Benoliel, number 5, hitting hard shots in response to the lack of defense. But they still had some trouble with defense and boxing out. The final score for the third quarter was 62 Summit Classical, 38 NYHS. 

“Despite all the challenges, we pushed through,” said Weichbrodt. 

NYHS had a rough start for the fourth quarter, not scoring until the last minutes. In a sweet moment after the game, Summit Classical presented NYHS with flowers and a card to express support for the Jewish team in the midst of the Israel-Hamas war. 

“It should be reported and celebrated this beautiful act. Their team brought us flowers and a card telling us they support us, especially in these difficult times. So moving.” Hannah Hason, a teacher at NYHS said. 

Bunin is proud of the teamwork they demonstrated and proud of their hard work. They know that little mistakes are truly just lessons for the future and that by continuing to have hope and putting in work, all of it will pay off. 

Both Weichbrodt and Bunin are very excited about upcoming games and this season in general. They both believe that as a team they are capable of fixing mistakes, always having dedication and that with hard work future games will become brighter. 

 “I’m very excited about the rest of the season,” said Bunin.