Lakehill Prep 63-60

Yavneh defeated Lakehill Prep 63-60 Thursday evening in overtime. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 9-1.

Kind of like Yavneh Senior David Naxon collecting 8 of his misses and scoring on the second and third opportunities, the Bulldogs blew yet another big fourth quarter lead to sneak out their second overtime win of the season. Bad news: Yavneh crumbles again in the fourth quarter, giving up an 8 point lead in the final 81 seconds; Good news: Again, Yavneh finds a way to re-focus itself and win a tough overtime period to continue what could end up being the best start in its history. Naxon made a statement again, scoring the first two of his game-high 32 points on a steal and a dunk in the opening minute. Back from injury was his partner in crime, Erez Krengel, who drilled his first long ball and the Bulldogs were off and rolling. Led by skilled scorers Tyler Reddington and Michael Morrison, scrapped all night and really outworked Yavneh. Lakehill controlled the first quarter 16-10 by taking advantage of 8 Bulldog turnovers. They also collected 6 big offensive rebounds and watched Yavneh miss on at least 5 point-blank shot opportunities. The “Scintillating” Senior started to really assert himself in quarter number two. Naxon found Krengel to tie the game at 18 midway through the quarter and soon after Senior Brad Alhadef streaked to the basket and gave Yavneh a lead they would hold almost until the fourth quarter buzzer. As mentioned, Naxon used the rim all night to pass the ball to himself. While he could not finish the first time on multiple occasions, he was there more times than not to clean up the mess. The Bulldogs made their big run towards the end of the half, capped by Alhadef threading the needle to Krengel for a 10-point 32-22 halftime lead. Both teams cashed in on offensive rebounds and Yavneh’s 7 free throw misses kept the door open for a Lakehill comeback. The lead would shrink to 5 points in the third quarter before the Bulldogs put on what looked to be the decisive run. Freshman Elan Kogutt nailed two short jumpers to push the lead to 9 points as Naxon continued to feast inside on the smaller Lakehill team. With a game-high lead of 13 to finish the third quarter, the game was surely in hand. While Alhadef tried to put the game away with some nifty drives to the basket, Lakehill stayed within single digits with some hot shooting from Reddington and Morrison down the stretch. Yavneh tried to implode with several key turnovers in the final minutes but a key sequence seemed to sink Lakehill with 1:21 remaining. Morrison stole the ball from Junior William Zalstein and finished at the other end to cut the deficit to just 54-50 but the lack of a foul call cost them more than the extra point possibility. The referee issued a technical foul to Morrison, Naxon hit the two free throws plus a bucket on a nice slip to the basket, and instead of 54-50 it was 58-50. Only two consecutive Bulldog turnovers coupled with three clutch baskets gave Lakehill a miraculous fighting chance. Still holding a 58-55 lead with 18.8 seconds left, Yavneh tried to give some fouls they had to give. Somehow, someway former Dallas JCC youth league star Joseph Nall (now a Freshman), was left wide open for a potential game tying three point field goal. Although he got only the back rim, Morgon Lineberry found the rebound and got his prayer answered with just a tick left on the clock. Again, the Bulldogs had every reason to pack it in for the overtime. But not this team: Naxon went to the opposite hand to get the lead a minute and a half into the overtime. Krengel followed with a gorgeous drive to the basket to provide a small cushion. He would sink only one of two free throws with 17.3 seconds left, leaving one final hope for Lakehill. As Tyler Reddington’s game tying three point attempt just missed crawling over the front rim as time expired, the Bulldogs again exhaled. For the third time in four late meltdowns, they had survived. It takes a certain amount of resiliency to be successful in New York’s Sarachek Tournament but many will argue that the Bulldogs have had enough practice at that so far this season. Naxon finished with 32 points and 20 rebounds, while Krengel poured in 16 points. Lakehill’s Reddington and Morrison recorded 25 and 19 respectively.

Yavneh (9-1) will play Dallas Academy Thursday night. DA has never beaten Yavneh in nine tries.

The Kennel Report is written by Zack Pollack

CHASING HISTORY

This year’s 2007-2008 yavneh bulldogs are now just 3 wins away from the best start in yavneh history. They are chasing the 2000-2001 team led by the likes of noam scott, sam fine, david Abrams, and sophomores itzy ribald, gavi wolk, and joseph belleli. They lost their second game after starting 11-1.

At 9-1, the bulldogs play dallas academy Thursday evening

On November 30, 2000, 8-1 Yavneh defeated St. Therese

82-21 to get to 9-1. Non-roster invitee Sophomore Zach Greenberg came off the bench/bleachers to score 16 second half points in the rout. It was the second of two times the Bulldogs would top 80 points on the season.