Yavneh defeated Thomas Jefferson Public High School 69-62 in overtime Tuesday evening. The win improves the Bulldogs record to7-1.
David Naxon scored 41 points and collected 21 rebounds in willing Yavneh to hold on and defeat another Dallas Public School. The score may well send shock-waves to the average Dallas Morning News reader in the morning; but those in the know understand that the only upset on this night was that of the Thomas Jefferson players’ stomachs thinking about another dose of the “Scintillating Senior”. Naxon and Freshman Elan Kogutt, making his third career start, both recorded impressive double-doubles. The Bulldogs dominated the majority of the game, once again jumping out to a big early lead. Naxon scored 14 points in the first quarter in pacing Yavneh to a 21-11 lead. Thomas Jefferson turned the ball over early and often, staking the Bulldogs to the lead. The lead shrunk to as little as 7 in the second quarter but Senior Baruch Shawel popped off the bench to deliver a clutch three pointer in the half’s final minute. The 35-26 halftime lead could have been much bigger and it was more than evident that Yavneh should run away with the game in the second half. Both teams, however, played tired in the second half. The problem for the Bulldogs was the depth of Thomas Jefferson. Injuries to Seniors Erez Krengel and Michael San Soucie left Yavneh with just 6 regular rotation players, almost of which went 36 or more minutes in the game. Naxon, especially, was clearly gassed in the latter part of the second half. In the third quarter, the Bulldog lead would get no lower than 5 points but no bigger than 9. With TJ teetering on the brink and taking a pounding down low from Naxon, Marquis Derrick stepped up and kept the Patriots in the game. Yavneh could not pull away mainly because it could not hold onto the ball. Seven third quarter turnovers and 10 more in the final quarter reminded many of the blown leads against Shelton (the loss) and of course Sunset (a win) where a potential loss rimmed out several times at games’ end. The final quarter Tuesday was uneventful until Derrick and cohort David Holmes-Benson poured in an 18 point quarter. The lead was just 4 at 53-49 when Humberto Navarro drilled a long range bomb to bring TJ to within one single point with 2:48 remaining. Every punch was answered by Naxon at the other end until Ryan Johnson tied the game with his own three pointer in the final minute. Both teams had chances at the end of regulation but wasted them with turnovers. Senior Brad Alhadef missed an open layup and Naxon was called for a travel before he missed two more shots during the frantic finish to regulation. At 57-57, it would have been easy for the Bulldogs to crumble having led for the entire game. But they would not relinquish the lead. Tired or not, Yavneh came out blazing and never looked back in the overtime session. Alhadef stole the tip and this time finished the layup. After a stop, the Freshman Kogutt drilled a three-ball, and Yavneh coasted from there to the finish. Naxon’s 41 points on 14/33 shooting with help from Kogutt’s 10 point/ 15 rebound performance led the Bulldogs while TJ had three players in double figures. Also of note, Alhadef collected 7 steals in the game.
Yavneh (7-1) will play Lucas Christian Thursday night. Lucas will no doubt remember the last meeting when Erez Krengel broke their hearts with a three pointer to win in the final seconds. This time, they will have to compete with a determined, still thin Bulldog unit looking to achieve two major milestones Thursday: Coach Chad Baruch will be seeking his 200th win at Yavneh and David Naxon needing just 6 points to reach 1,000 in his Yavneh career.
The Kennel Report is written by Zack Pollack