Epstein Boys Win Metro Atlanta Athletic Conference Title

Sometimes losing can be good thing in basketball.  

It’s a strange concept considering every athlete hates to lose. However, a defeat can give a coach, and his or her team, a chance to regroup.

That’s what happened to Epstein Middle School boys’ basketball team after their early season loss to The Galloway School. It was Epstein’s only loss of the season.

They recently returned the favor and beat Galloway 48-31 to capture the Metro Atlanta Athletic Conference championship. Epstein guard Jonathan Steinberg finished with 15 points in his school’s glorious victory.

It’s Epstein’s third title in five years. They won championships in 2007 and 2009.

“I’m really proud to be involved in one of the Epstein championships,” said forward Alex Platt. “Ever since I came to the Epstein Middle School I wanted to play for the Epstein team and hopefully win a championship.”

The team opened the season on a roll, winning its first four games by an average of 25 points. The players were on an emotional high but the 16-point loss against Galloway in the fifth game of the season was crushing.

 “We were so confident. We felt no one could beat us,” said Epstein coach Howard Galloway. “Then, Galloway came in and took that pride away from us real quick. That’s when we started to want it more.”

Epstein then reeled off seven consecutive victories to place itself in the Metro Atlanta Athletic Conference championship game and a rematch with The Galloway School.

The boys had a proverbial chip on their shoulder and wanted to prove they could best the team that provided them their lone blemish of the season.

“After that loss, that only loss, we realized this wasn’t going to be easiest thing in the world,” Platt said. “At the beginning of the season we were pretty confident. But as the season progressed and we had that first loss, we thought maybe we needed to change the way were playing. We got more focused after the game.”

The second meeting was a polar opposite from the first time these two teams met. In But in the championship game, Epstein made key adjustments and employed a 2-1-2 zone defense to prevent the Galloway players from getting open looks at the basket.

While Epstein would have preferred to finish the season undefeated, they learned a lot from their one loss. Seventh grader Max Marcovitch, one of two players that will return to Epstein’s A-team, said the adjustments were a credit to the coaching staff.

“I think it’s good because [coach Galloway] coached us up all year,” Marcovitch said. “It showed with the adjustments we were able to make after losing to them the first time. The second time, we beat them.”

Epstein honorees who received awards this season include Zachary Rich and Steinberg. Rich received the Coach’s Award for outstanding leadership and Steinberg was named the team’s Most Valuable Player.

As for Epstein, defending its title could be tough with just two returning players on the roster. Marcovitch and sixth grader Ben Siegel will be the only players with A-team experience on next year’s squad.

Epstein also has a B-team and C-team, which is equivalent to junior varsity and freshman teams in high school.