Thomas Jefferson Public High School defeated Yavneh 55-43 Tuesday evening. The loss drops the Bulldogs record to 3-3.
Speed kills and it did exactly that Tuesday night as Yavneh assisted Thomas Jefferson with 27 ill-timed turnovers. The Bulldogs jump-started an already lightning quick fast break with gift after gift down the stretch and could never recover. Star guard Ryan Johnson showcased his talents right from the beginning with a dazzling first quarter display of speed, shooting, and best of all ball handling. He and Yavneh Senior Captain William Zalstein went head to head at least a couple times in a somewhat entertaining showdown early. It was one of the few times Zalstein has had to step back defensively against a quicker guard. With TJ storming out of the gate 9-4, Bulldog leading scorer Elan Kogutt scored a quick 8 of his game-high 22 points to surge his team into the lead at 12-9. For a brief moment, the Bulldogs exhibited a patience offensively that turned the pace in their favor. TJ looked uncomfortable playing defense for any period of time, specifically in the low post. When the game was played at one end early, Yavneh was in control. The only reason TJ led after a quarter was 3 big offensive rebounds that resulted in easy put-backs. The duo of Yavneh Freshmen big men played admirably for most of the game. Jake Greif took a big first quarter charge and scored a tough basket in the post. Ben Romaner kept the Bulldogs in the hunt on the boards with a big second quarter tip-in to tie the game, making 3 of his 4 shots overall. Junior Josh Karnett’s three pointer for the lead at 20-19 preceded a 26-24 lead for the Bulldogs at halftime. Both teams shot in the 40% range, were fairly even on the boards, and turned the ball over 8 times in Half#1. Yavneh had the half court edge shooting all the free throws while TJ got some easy points on the run with their quickness edge. However, the final 16 minutes would be a totally different story. Following the Bulldogs extending the lead to 30-24 on two great passes from starting guards Zalstein and Pulitzer, the bottom fell out. The 20-4 TJ run that followed featured one Yavneh turnover after another as the game got extremely physical. At one point in the run, 6 straight possessions were “Yavneh turnover, TJ basket”… The Bulldogs had played effectively in a frenetic pace in previous games but not tonight. TJ held only a six-point lead after three quarters but Yavneh was done scoring from the field. A lethal combinations of double-digit turnovers and no shots made in the final period eliminated any chance of Bulldog-life late. All three Yavneh losses this season have included an un-raveling of sorts with way too many turnovers. Kogutt finished with a double-double (22 points,11 rebounds) but that was marred by his 10 turnovers and 7/22 shooting. Pulitzer was only a field goal behind with his 7 turnovers…just too many. The game was a great learning experience for a young team not yet tested in a hostile environment. Junior Josh Karnett left the game late in the fourth quarter with an apparent ankle sprain.
Yavneh (3-3) will travel to Austin and play Juan Diego Prep Thursday night in the second of six games in 11 days.
The Kennel Report, now in its fifth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M