Bishop Lynch defeated Yavneh 73-30 Monday evening. The loss drops the Bulldogs record to 1-2.
There are not many instances in which a team can overcome a 30-1 run in the first half, and Monday was no exception for a shell-shocked Bulldogs squad. Yavneh failed in response to the excessively physical nature of what turned into more of a street game than a high school basketball game midway through the contest. Bishop Lynch drilled a three ball right off the game’s opening tip and followed with a steal/layup for a quick 5-0 lead. Memories of the terrible start in Argyle just four nights ago were quickly put to rest, however, as Senior Elan Kogutt offered up his best 3-minute stretch of the season. Kogutt scored 9 early points on two great passes from Junior Jordan Prescott and followed that up with a triple of his own. With the crowd behind them, Yavneh jetted to an 11-7 lead, capping their 11-2 opening quarter run with Senior Jake Greif’s goregous scoot to the hoop. On the next two possessions, Greif got a monster rebound and his classmate Ben Romaner came out of his shoes to block a Bishop Lynch shot so ferociously that the ball bounced off multiple heads and objects before landing safely out of bounds. But as sure as that ball ping-ponged in a downward spiral to the ground so went the rest of the night for Yavneh’s basketball team. Bishop Lynch tested the limits of how physical the game would be allowed to become and found that the most effective way to limit the Bulldogs were to bump them on the exterior. For the next 3+ quarters, Kogutt and Prescott could not get a clean look at the basket without a defender right there with them. 18 physically forced turnovers led to multiple runout baskets and five dagger three pointers. The 4 point Bulldog lead had yielded a 10-0 run by the end of the first period, 15-0 minutes into the second, and 30-1 overall by halftime.
A totally demoralized team minutes into the third period had three major things working against them on this night: the physicality of the defense both prevented Yavneh scoring and leading to BL’s easy points on the other end; two struggling superstars being pushed way out into offensive positions that made them a combined 7-25 from the field with 11 turnovers; and finally the lack of will to fight back against a level of intensity and physicality that they had never seen before. 7 missed free throws, a field goal drought spanning 12+ minutes, and 1/11 three point shooting all culminated in a game to forget for the Bulldogs. Kogutt led Yavneh with 15 points but 9 of them were in the books before the game-ending 66-19 run started. While Prescott had his worst offensive game since second grade (not scoring until late in the final period), he did have 5 really nice assists including 3 to start the game. From despair, however, ALWAYS comes hope. The Bulldogs have an opportunity to quickly forget all about The Monday Night Melee with a signature opportunity in Houston later this week. Beginning Thursday, the Bulldogs will have a chance to show what they can do against a group of elite Jewish High School basketball teams from around the nation in what could be a taste of what we will see from them come March. This Sarachek preview shapes the outlook for the rest of the season without a doubt.
Yavneh (1-2) begins play at the Yaffe Tournament in Houston, Texas on Thursday. Can Kogutt and Prescott return to form, play together as the superstars they have the potential to be immediately, and lead the Bulldogs to an early season triumph? Can the triumverate of big men (Grief, Romaner, Guttman) burst through the flashes of greatness they have hinted at early this season at times? Can the guard play value the basketball like never before this season and bring home wins in a high pressure, tournament environment?
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!
The Kennel Report, now in its seventh season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
Reid?