Yavneh defeated Emery Weiner of Houston 47-37 and then Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh 44-26 in the preliminary rounds of the The David A. Yaffee z’l Memorial Tournament in Houston Thursday to qualify for the tournament semifinals. The wins flip the Bulldogs season record to 3-2.
At no other time in its history was a pair of wins more crucial than the two that Yavneh scored Thursday in Houston, Texas. Although the Bulldogs were the more talented team in both contests, the advancement to the semifinals was huge for this team’s confidence on a number of levels: Bruised and battered from two sound beatings to high level competition, Yavneh just had to get back on the winning track. Further, Houston has been a virtual House of Horrors for the Bulldogs ever since the tournament expanded to include national competition.
The first preliminary round contest featured a much improved Emery Weiner team on their home court. The front line and guard play had improved but were still complemented with an incredibly porous defense. Senior Elan Kogutt scored 7 first quarter points but the Bulldogs only held a 12-10 advantage due to 7 turnovers in the opening stanza. For most of the half, the Bulldogs could not get out of their own way. They lacked the patience to break down an incredibly vulnerable zone defense by hoisting quick, inaccurate shots and just flat giving the ball away in other instances. EW actually took the lead at 16-13 midway through the second period when the Bulldog Freshmen Class spoke once again. Adam Karnett completed a three point tip play with a free throw and followed that up with a long distance three pointer to key a 12-2 run that gave Yavneh a lead they would maintain for the rest of the contest. More a lack of focus than anything else, the Bulldogs had survived the first half in this true road game and coasted from there. Three starters (Kogutt, Prescott, Sulski) struggled most of the game with foul trouble but a huge effort by Junior Post Jake Greif (9 rebounds) provided just enough spark to allow for an easy breather during the second half. Junior Jordan Prescott hit three big triples to lead Yavneh with 17 points and 6 assists. Kogutt and Karnett followed with 15 and 10 respectively.
The second preliminary round contest pitted Yavneh against a young Hillel Pittsburgh team that put up a much bigger fight than expected early on. Once again the Bulldogs failed to execute offensively in the opening quarter. It got so bad that five substitutes played the majority of the first half. Leading 6-4 after one period, something was clearly wrong. While Kogutt and Prescott had found their rhythms pretty quick in the first game, they could never quite get it together in the first half of the Hillel game. Instead, it was shooting specialist Sophomore Josh Lynn’s pair of triples and high jumping Senior Zev Klein’s 5 first half rebounds that even kept the Bulldogs in contact. Hillel exploded to a 15-12 lead that felt like a double digit deficit given the pace of the game. Yavneh could consider themselves fortunate to be up 18-17 at halftime. Outshot 29-19% and having given up 11 offensive rebounds, the Bulldogs played with a passion to start the second half. Junior Jordan Prescott scored 6 points in a flash and the Bulldogs used their new-found depth to bust a 22-1 run to shock an undermanned Pittsburgh squad. What at one point was one of the ugliest performances in school history and well on its way to being yet another Houston disappointment quickly turned into a Yavneh block party and a laugher to the finish. The contributions of so many players made that second half a clincher to the tournament semifinals. Prescott led the team once again with 9 points–Freshmen Adam Karnett and Itai Guttman (career high) chipped in 8 points apiece–Josh Lynn scored 7 critical points including the pair of three balls–Zev Klein grabbed 8 rebounds in all to go along with a trio of steals and a blocked shot–and Senior Shimi Wolk scored 4 second half points, a block, a rebound, and 3 steals including a stutter step dance after the last one while cruising down the court.
The Bulldogs are now a single win away from equaling their best finish in Houston since the expanded tournament style. Make no mistake, though, Friday’s semifinal will be a huge step up in competition and intensity. In order to earn a berth in the championship game, Kogutt and Prescott will need to play the first half just like they have dominated the last 16 minutes of these games. Greif, Romaner, and Guttman will have to ALL provide an inside force that each have been so close to breaking through with at times during the first 5 games of this season. The role players will need to produce to battle the depth of the competition. WILL the Bulldogs get back to the finals for the first time since HANC stymied them on a brisk February afternoon nearly three years ago?
Only time will tell!!
The Kennel Report, now in its seventh season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
Reid?