Yavneh defeated Commerce High School 70-67 Tuesday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 15-7.
Commerce was unable to account for two legitimate scoring threats and Yavneh just barely hung on Tuesday for its seventh straight win over a public school. All may have ended well on this night but the opening minutes had the looks of a game in which the Bulldogs just might not compete. Yavneh has developed a pattern of slow starts to teams that can end games in the first four minutes, and a 10-5 Commerce start at their warp-speed pace had all the makings of another. In a nice change of pace, however, Sophomore Itai Guttman made a stellar move from the high post to the basket to stop the bleeding. With a look similar to that of Christopher Columbus when he stumbled across America in 1492, Guttman seemed to finally understand that he could make this a special night. Guttman and Senior Captain Jordan Prescott worked together all night but two connections during a pivotal 9-3 run to end the first quarter truly established a Bulldog presence. Prescott finished the opening stanza with a drive and a triple to stake Yavneh to a one point lead. The winning formula of low turnovers (2), being competitive on the boards (even), and controlling the halfcourt offense (+22% shooting percentage) kept the home team in the game against an athletic public school team. Yavneh started the second period with a flurry. Their 6-0 run featured a gargantuan follow by Senior Post Ben Romaner and a lefty hook shot by Senior Captain Jake Greif. Never before had the Bulldogs gotten such a buffet of big men with the entire triumvirate contributing. The best part about it was how easy all this made for Prescott to dissect the defense. Mixing it up between the outside jumpers, mid range floaters, and even a stop-and-go bank shot, the Bulldogs scoring sensation was able to be efficient and generous with the basketball. While the offense was flowing, Commerce was getting to the heart of the paint all night long at the other end. The Bulldogs had kept the turnovers to a minimum and even surprisingly out rebounded Commerce but gave up 11 points on free throws. Simply put, Commerce could not be kept out of the Yavneh paint.
The Bulldogs would once again save their best run for the commencement of the second half. Prescott fired off two three balls at the end of extended possessions followed by more from the big men. Guttman had a career third quarter scoring 8 points on four perfect shots. He used both sides of the paint and had Commerce’s front line searching for answers. Greif further stretched that front line by bottoming a mid-range jumper of his own. Recognizing all the help he was getting, Prescott started to rack up the assists as he found Guttman on two straight trips for a double digit lead. In all, a 24 point third period netted the Bulldogs a 13 point lead but the rebounding bug would resurface in the final eight minutes. Extending to a 16 point lead, Yavneh just had to prevent a collapse. Three consecutive Commerce possessions, though, produced more than just 2 points including a 5 offensive rebound/ 4 point possession. Prescott found Greif underneath and then Sophomore Sam Kleinman at the basket for two more helpers, keeping the lead in double figures with 3:51 to play. It was at that time that the Bulldogs decided to make things difficult. Three turnovers and an ill-advised shot later, Commerce was back in the game. They converted three of those four for uncontested layups in a 14-5 run that culminated with a Hugh Jackson three pointer. In a flash, Yavneh had to stave off charging Commerce who had cut the lead to 68-65 with 31.6 seconds left. Some missed free throws and one final open court give-away allowed Commerce to pull within a single point with less than 10 seconds left. Prescott, however, connected on the two most important free throws of the game for a 70-67 edge. Two Commerce missed prayer triples later the Bulldogs had escaped an almost collapse. Jordan Prescott led all scorers with 32 points and a very impressive 11 assists. Guttman followed with his career-high 18 points to go along with 9 rebounds. Greif also recorded a solid 8 point, 7 rebound performance while Sophomore Adam Karnett chipped in 6 points.
Disciplined basketball, very few turnovers, and control of the rebounds had the Bulldogs rolling at times Tuesday. The support Prescott received made the entire team better and allowed him to play the all around game that he can bring to the table. The final minutes, though, also showed the tremendous weaknesses that have plagued this team at times over the course of the season. Yavneh (15-7) will try to build on the good and make their turnover and rebounding issues a kryptonic glimpse of the past.
The Kennel Report, now in its eighth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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