In PVAC North, it’s down to Jewish Day and Barrie

‘‘Probably our division is between the two of us at this point, so we have to kind of handle our business,” Lions coach Eyal Fierst said. ‘‘We only have four league games left [as of Sunday]. It all depends on how we do in those next few games. The next few weeks will be pretty telling.

On the offensive side, guard Ezra Weisel and 6-foot-7 forward Eitan Chemerinski continue to lead the way. Chemerinski, in fact, had 23 points in the team’s 54-45 win over Sandy Spring (3-12, 3-8) Saturday night.

‘‘Chemerinski hurt us the first game and he had 23 points Saturday,” Sandy Spring coach Joe Limarzi said. ‘‘He’s tough to stop. We tried to make him do some different things but he was 7 for 8 from the line in the second half and he keyed their offense.”

That loss in what was the team’s lone game last week because of exams makes this week very important for Sandy Spring, which is trying to catch Hebrew Academy for the fourth and final playoff spot out of the North Division. The top four teams in each division qualify for postseason play.

‘‘We have four games this week,” said Limarzi, who got 19 points from Gus May and 15 points from Stephen Bonser in the Jewish Day loss. ‘‘We’re pretty much one game behind Hebrew Academy. [Making the playoffs] is still our goal. We have to find a win or two to make it interesting.”

Barrie, like Jewish Day, seems to be hitting its stride at the right time with four players reaching double figures in its 63-37 win over Hebrew Academy last week. Adrian Masone (10 points), Sam Howard (12 points), Robert Finkel (10 points) and Nick Whited (16 points, 10 rebounds) led the varied attack.

‘‘We kind of got back into our old ways of really sharing the ball,” Mustangs coach Jack Mitchell said. ‘‘The kids are really playing unselfish. We had four guys in double figures. That’s what we like. We don’t like to depend on one or two guys. Our offense is kind of clicking.”

So is the team’s defense, which limited Hebrew Day to a mere 16 points in the first half of last Tuesday’s game to open up a comfortable 22-point lead.

‘‘We’re getting after it defensively,” Mitchell said. ‘‘Our half-court defense is limiting teams to just one shot and we’re boxing out and staying out of foul trouble.

‘‘We’re just trying to play steady each game and try to get better each week. As the kids become more comfortable, you see more games like this. Two years ago, we had four guys average double figures. We’re competing every possession.”