Yavneh defeated Dallas Academy 54-39 Tuesday evening. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 3-0.
Every year Tax Day is April 15, Thanksgiving occurs on the fourth Thursday of November, the city of Dallas has that one ridiculous ice storm where all the drivers go insane, and of course Yavneh beats Dallas Academy in varsity basketball. All-state guards Roland Turner and Michael Sirleaf couldn’t get it done for them nor could any other team Dallas Academy has thrown on the floor for the duration of the “rivalry?”. 2009 presented an interesting opportunity as DA sported two gigantic posts to battle the Bulldogs. It wasn’t going to happen. Junior Elan Kogutt carried his hot Monday shooting performance into the first half Tuesday with 18 of his team high 23 points and Sophomore Jordan Prescott scored the bulk of his 14 points to close things out in the second half. Early game jitters befell the Bulldogs again turning the ball over on multiple possessions in the opening minutes for the third consecutive game. While DA boasted a huge front line, they seldom finished at the rim and couldn’t keep themselves on the floor. Foul trouble kept Jesse Kysiak under double figure points all evening long and put the majority of the offensive burden on a free shooting guard. DA’s Blake Ransom led all scorers with 24 points but needed one of the big boys to free things up and it never really happened. Meanwhile, Kogutt was shooting the lights out early scoring nine straight points early on his way to 11 in the opening stanza. Yavneh doubled up DA 16-8 in that first eight minutes, outshooting their opponents 53% to 16% but yielding 9 offensive rebounds. The second period saw Senior Josh Karnett get back on the wagon, taking his customary charge early. Kogutt racked up seven more points to lead Yavneh to a 27-16 halftime edge. Dallas Academy made a run towards the end of the half behind Ransom’s outside hits but a key Joe Lerer to Ben Romaner basket along with a twisting off balance finish in traffic by Senior Captain Miles Pulitzer kept distance at the half. 2/8 free throw shooting by Yavneh kept the game within reach and DA would challenge again.
An uneventful third quarter turned disastrous when a bunch of Yavneh’s 17 turnovers coupled with Ransom’s three point shots made the score just 35-29 after three quarters. Kogutt, who had been so dominant for the previous 6+ quarters, scored nary a point in the period. The Bulldogs needed someone else to step up and Prescott delivered. He assisted Kogutt for one of nine assists on the night, and from there opened up his own offensive arsenal. Spreading the court with 5 minutes to play turned a tight game into another Bulldog runaway. DA quickly became impatient as their zone defense could do nothing but extend. This opened Prescott up for an easy layup, a nine point edge, and the end of Dallas Academy’s comfort “zone”. Suddenly, they felt it necessary to gift wrap an offensive clinic for Yavneh by switching to a man defense. For the next decisive three minutes, the Bulldogs carved up that man defense running through play after play of their Princeton style attack as if there was no defense on the floor. 6 backdoor cuts later, the game was in hand and another victory secured over Dallas Academy. Kogutt finished with a double double (23&12), Prescott with the 14 points and 9 assists, and Sophomores Jake Grief and Ben Romaner battled the big men down low all night long with great effectiveness. Despite officially fouling out, Grief only committed three fouls called by the actual referees. It was nice to have the two offensive stars for Yavneh picking each other up in separate halves of a winning effort. Also of note, two different Bulldog guards tallied nine assists in separate back to back games.
The revenge tour of heartbreaking losses from a year ago continues Thursday as Yavneh (3-0) travels to Austin for a meeting with Hill Country. Hill Country can expect a more focused group this time around including a different Elan Kogutt, specifically one that is likely to keep himself on the floor during the game’s final seconds.
The Kennel Report, now in its sixth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
LF 4-2