Basketball Recap: Jahmai Dayton and Lawson Hopkins Secure Win for New Hope Academy Regional

Berman Hebrew Academy typically has all the answers at home, but on Tuesday New Hope Academy Regional proved too difficult a challenge. They secured an 81-76 W over the Berman Hebrew Academy Cougars. This was a revenge game for the Tigers: when they faced off against the Cougars back in November of 2024, they had to take a 63-56 defeat.

Leading New Hope Academy Regional to victory were Lawson Hopkins and Jahmai Dayton. Hopkins posted 19 points, while Dayton dropped a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Dayton also posted six blocks, which is notable because New Hope Academy Regional is 4-2 when he posts at least three blocks, but 14-18 otherwise. Chis Bullock was another key player, putting up eight points in addition to seven assists and three steals.

Berman Hebrew Academy lost despite a true team effort on offense. The best among them was Alex August, who went 10-for-22 to rack up 27 points. That was a full 35.5% of Berman Hebrew Academy's points, marking the third time in a row August has had more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Ezra Sushner, who shot 50% from the field en route to 15 points and six boards.

New Hope Academy Regional is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-20 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 71.7 points over those games. This is the second loss in a row for Berman Hebrew Academy and nudges their season record down to 31-7.

As of now, neither New Hope Academy Regional nor Berman Hebrew Academy have any future games scheduled.