Yavneh defeated Pantego Christian Academy 56-43 Thursday night. The win closes out the Bulldogs non-conference portion of their schedule at 15-3.
After a pre-game warmup show that looked more like All-Star Saturday night with no less than 4 different Pantego players throwing down ferocious slam dunks, Yavneh systematically forced a bone-crushing 31 turnovers in rolling by the Panthers of TAPPS 4A. Featuring a somewhat imposing front line, Pantego had the Bulldogs playing tentative early in this contest. In fact, the Panthers built a 4-0 lead that left the home team scoreless for the opening three minutes of this game. The 0/4 start from the field was of trepidation and shot adjusting/re-adjusting. The score could have been even a wider margin but Pantego was already 4 turnovers into their big charity drive that would reach epic proportions before long. Yavneh needed a spark and they got it from Senior Jonah Eber, who fearlessly took the game over in a critical 61 seconds for the ages. Eber lunged into the lane for a leaping floater not amongst a tree but instead an entire forest. After that finish with contact, Eber tried the same on the right side and buried a righty floater. The 4-0 lead had been erased in the matter of a loud thunder clap…squared. Ben Rael found his cousin in transition off another forced turnover seconds later to make it ThrEber for consecutive field goals, this one on the run and at the basket. The 6-0 run Eber run became an 8-0 team run as Hillel Baynash stole and scored for a 4-point advantage. As an example of how crazy the runs in this game were, Mason Schwaber was the unfortunate victim of a +/- in the early going that looked for like a ride at Six Flags than a statistical flow chart. He had been on the court for all 11 Pantego points and 0 Yavneh points after the Panthers responded with a 7-0 spurt of their own. Proving this to be a true anomaly and a matter of mere timing, Schwaber delivered a great jump hook move in the low post to settle things down again and trim the Bulldogs deficit to 11-10. In one of the strangest first periods statistically that one has ever seen, Yavneh led in points 12-11, were out-shot 83% to 50%, and collected a grand total of ZERO rebounds. Pantego may have asked themselves how they shot 83%, shut out their opponent on the boards, and still managed to trail by a point on the big board. The Answer: 12 turnovers, more than 1 give-away per minute by a quarter. And so it would be a battle of which numbers regressed first, and Spoiler Alert: the Bulldogs did work on the boards in a decisive second period. Schwaber celebrated his team’s first rebound of the game a minute into the quarter with a block to complement it. Treynash made it count as the Sophomore splashed from the wing off an Eber setup. Another assist for the Senior came one trip later to Schwaber at the basket. If the continuing parade of Pantego turnovers were hurting Yavneh’s at-bats to grab rebounds, the renewed invention of the offensive rebound fueled a 13-board second period after blanks in the initial quarter. While that trend had turned, the Panther turnovers were still coming fast and furious against the active Bulldog zone defense. Elisha Klein looted the passing lane for another basket in transition and Schwaber nailed a free throw jumper on a great up-and-under move. It was ironic that he would score from the free throw line in his only endeavor to that geography in this contest. In a game that saw only a single free throw attempt at all from the Bulldogs, maybe the double points are what attracted the Senior post to make a shot from that range? Meanwhile, what Schwaber was doing with regularity included a block party with three rejections in the first half alone. For a team that could not grab a rebound early, Yavneh sure ended the first half in style. Avery Levy (5 second period rebounds) scored on a strong tip follow and Rael followed with a multi-offensive rebound possession that eventually led to his finishing layup for a 25-15 edge. The 15-4 Bulldog run was the second consecutive second period outburst to flip a game this week. An 18-4 turnover count and a resurgance to now lead in rebounds 13-11 had Yavneh in firm control of this contest.
Jason Prager found Tyler C Winton to blitz Pantego in the early moments of the second half. Winton delivered a triple and Prager sliced to the rack for a quick 32-17 lead. The Bulldogs energy was in high gear and they were flying around the court. A Rael block and Eber rebound netted more Prager transition points and a personal 8-0 JP run was completed with a wing trifecta courtesy of a Schwaber setup. Those 8 Prager points in succession opened up a game-high 19 point lead at 39-20. For a brief moment, the Panthers actually decided to score the basketball with their heap of athletic superstars versus specializing in a professional version of the craft of Hot Potato. Jayden Jones, who really came on in the second half, engineered an 8-0 stretch in which Pantego crawled to within 39-28 late in the third period. Eber, who responded to every Pantego run all night long, darted a great pass to Noah Ohayon for a corner three ball to break this spurt and re-establish a 42-28 advantage. The lead quickly ballooned back out to 17 points in the early moments of the final period courtesy of Eber and more Eber. A bully-ball reverse move and a 7th and final assist to Rael in the corner completed 3Ds big night living up to his name. 5 steals and rebounds, a block, and this perfect night from the land of THREE most definitely was a nice ending to 2019 for the Sophomore. Winton drained a wing TW3 but the defense fell off late in this game, allowing Jones to put on a show. A steal for a transition running slam dunk kick-started a 12-5 run for the Panthers but even so Yavneh maintained a double-digit lead. At 52-42, an epic collapse was not in the cards as Prager and Winton assisted Klein for a double-dagger consisting of two majestic finishes at the rim. Known to the national media as The December Heartbreaker, Klein added Pantego to the list of Boyar, HANC, CHAT, BT, etc. as teams who were introduced this month. Jason Prager led the way with 11 points and 4 assists, while the Senior trio of Mason Schwaber, Tyler Winton, and Jonah Eber all scored 8 points each. Eber also added 7 assists and 4 steals, while the Sophomore tandem of Ben Rael and Hillel Baynash each notched team-highs with 5 steals in a 31-flavor forced turnover game. Also of note, Avery Levy led the way with 6 rebounds which was much needed against a challenging front line that really limited the Bulldogs on the boards.
Yavneh (15-3) got the most out of a frenetic non-conference run that included a little bit of everything en route to preparing for a State run. They have shown brilliance in the starting lineup, magical moments from their star players, and endless depth with a bench that keeps popping out players who are producing. The challenge for this team has been consistency as one game they will stymie a team defensively and run for the pastures with 100+ point performances and another watch a team score on 9 consecutive possessions. With that said, this is a squad that absolutely could dominate their district and be squarely in the conversation for a fourth consecutive State Final Four….and beyond. How will the 2020 story go for this group and what legacy will this team leave behind when all is said and done?
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!
The Kennel Report, now in its 16th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack +XF M&M
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