Yavneh defeated HSAA 48-41 Monday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 9-3.
Clearly, the Bulldogs need to pretend that halftime occurs before these games begin. Jordan Prescott and Elan Kogutt used yet another magical third quarter run to transform a close game into a rout, stretching the Yavneh winning streak to 6 games. On no less than 4 games during this streak, lackluster and careless first half performances have been erased by the Bulldogs uncanny ability to explode at the outset of the second half.
Prescott scored the first four points of the basketball game, making a deliberate effort to drive the basketball to the rim. A somewhat sluggish first period for both teams was highlighted by his 7 points including the patented early NBA-distance three pointer. The Bulldogs turned the ball over only three times in the opening stanza, which was a major improvement. The second quarter ironically featured a zone busting display by Freshman Itai Guttman, playing with his own busted nose. The Batman-style protection mask being modeled by the Frenetic Freshman was not enough, however, to slow down an 8 point first half performance on 3/4 shooting. The lead was in serious peril at the very end of the opening half but a clutch basket followed by a timely steal courtesy of Senior Shimi Wolk kept the Bulldogs in front by 4 at halftime. Out sizing, out-shooting, and severely out-rebounding a seemingly over-matched HSAA team did not equate to what was on the scoreboard due to poor shot selection. Yavneh made just one of their 9 field goals from outside the paint yet continued to attempt more and more shots from far away.
Scoring the first three points of the second half, HSAA had sliced the lead to a single point at 23-22. Unable to solve the HSAA zone that had been so porous before the half, the Bulldogs looked confused and stagnant for nearly three minutes before making their move. Freshman Adam Karnett nailed a corner three ball, inspiring Kogutt and Prescott to amp up the energy. All at once, Yavneh engineered a 15-0 run to break the single point contest wide open. Kogutt was able to get out in space several times and the high pressure defense led to easy offense as has been the case on so many third quarter occasions during this streak. Missed free throws down the stretch enabled HSAA to sneak back into the game at 42-34 but Senior Zev Klein wove through traffic for the second of his two timely fourth quarter layups to slam the door on HSAA.
Prescott led all scorers with 13 points and 6 assists, while Kogutt finished with 12 points. Junior Ben Romaner collected 6 defensive rebounds in just 12 minutes to lead a dominant Bulldog rebounding margin over HSAA.
Yavneh (9-3) will play at Mc Kinney Christian Tuesday night looking for a seventh straight victory.
The Kennel Report, now in its seventh season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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