Yavneh defeated Thomas Jefferson High School 62-54 Monday night. The win improves the Bulldogs season record to 7-1.
The week of Thanksgiving kicked off in earnest Monday with kindness abound as two teams combined for 42 turnovers, 20 missed free throws, and 21 offensive rebounds allowed. In what could have been the largest attended game in Yavneh history had the seats all been filled turned into a glorified game of hot potato/pin the basketball on all parts of the iron from the free throw line, the Bulldogs outlasted the Patriots in the end. The game began as it would play out, with ugly offensive possessions, accidental defense, and a very rigid pace. The first field goal of the contest came courtesy of a Ben Rael alley-oop to Tyler C Winton for an athletic hanging finish for a 2-1 lead. Nearly three minutes in, each team had only one made basket and insisted on firing up long distance shots that had little chance to find safe haven in a cavernous arena with a difficult shooting background. The most exquisite aspect of this game may have been the passing of Senior Mason Schwaber, who collected his first two of six assists with a great post-to-post feed and an easy dump off to Rael for a 6-2 advantage. Schwaber also scored twice himself, taking advantage of his size advantage deep into the paint. Thomas Jefferson had no flow offensively but did manage to score points on gift turnovers and offensive rebounds early in this game. After knotting the score at 8-8 in this fashion, Yavneh needed a spark. On this roster, only one player has been on the inside of a Dallas Independent School District program….only one player has learned the tricks of the trade from constant pressure regardless of the game situation to taking the freeway to the basket despite how many bodies are in the way etc.. One man could save the Bulldogs: MR DISD Avery Levy. The Junior transfer knocked down an elbow jumper off a pass from Winton and then glided through the Addison Texas nighttime air for a baseline floater to complete a key 4-0 sequence. An 11-6 first period ending spurt was capped with a familiar story to lead 19-14. They didn’t give Tyler Winton a C in the middle of his name mid-life for any other reason than when the buzzer approaches its call his eyes light up. Winton’s bank shot from way downtown at the first period horn was nothing special…just another last second basket for a player that has to lead that non-tracked statistical category amongst all players in world history. Unfortunately, the momentum would exit with the first quarter and TJ scored 5 quick points to begin the second period. Levy, again sensing it was time to match DISD with DISD, broke the run with another timely basket. But turnovers, missed layups, the early onset of missed free throws, and overall sloppy play made this a tenuous game for no reason. Once again, however, the Bulldogs stood tall with a long run to end the half. A 10-3 trot put this game back into Yavneh control behind strong play from Junior transfer Jason Prager. An assist from out of bounds to Schwaber for a slick jump hook move and a straightaway triple surged the Bulldogs into the lead at 26-21 after the game was tied at 21. More great Schwaber passing brought maybe the best feed of the year for the 6”7 multi-talented post. He rifled a no-look, over the head Dr J dart to Reece Parker for a confident left-handed finish. Prager completed the run he started with a nifty steal/assist to a TRIumphant Elisha Klein on the run at the basket. 31-25 was the halftime lead for Yavneh behind 11 forced turnovers. A couple spurts shaped the first half story but the style of this game was concerning and there was a beyond significant drop-off from the level of the previous game for the Red-and-Black.
Prager fed Schwaber once more to begin the second half but the Patriots would respond with one of their patented yet inexplicable runs in this game. A 6-0 spurt cut a 33-25 Yavneh lead to a single basket at 33-31 behind turnovers for touchdowns, failed execution on pressure defense, and second through sixth chances via offensive rebounds. Hillel Baynash assisted Prager for a timely wing trifecta response to push the lead back to 5 points but TJ reeled off two baskets after that to leave the score at 36-35. The frenetic stretch drive of the third period saw multiple turnovers by both teams, some of those exchanges mere seconds apart. On one hand it was really cool to see the charity and giving as both communities came together. On the other hand, fans and coaches of both sides were losing their minds with the carelessness of this game. A key Baynash steal and then a Schwaber assist each found Prager for baskets as the Bulldogs hopped out of the pile of dust that was this third quarter with an opportunistic finish. Treynash had to adjust his trajectory based on environment and stepped in for a baseline jumper for a 44-37 lead. That would be the score heading to the final stanza courtesy of a save in the final moments as Klein powerfully blocked and rebounded a basketball all in one sweeping motion. A Winton to Schwaber connection to make the score 46-37 with 7:02 to play seemed to be a finishing blow to Thomas Jefferson’s hopes. But the Yavneh free throw epidemic would no longer be just a cute story as it was now costing the team vital possessions late in a basketball game. As shooter after shooter toed the charity stripe in the second half, just 4 of 19 attempts found a home inside the basket. The rock bottom moment may have been a miss by Schwaber in which TJ had seen so many misses they forgot this was a live rebound. Schwaber literally walked into the paint, grabbed the ball, was fouled again, and….the story had a familiar ending. Thomas Jefferson tried so hard to lay down in this game but all these extra possessions via offensive rebounds, turnovers, and if all else failed the slew of missed free throws begged the Patriots to find something to get back into the game. A laser of a line drive three pointer from the corner gave Jadavion Durton points to trim the lead to 50-46 with under 4 minutes to play. Levy, thinking this was his audition for a new reality show to be called The District, drove right to the rack for about his 8th run-stopping response basket of this game. Tom Oster ingested an enormous rebound to hold off TJ from capitalizing on yet another multi-rebound possession. On another TJ triple the lead would be cut down to a single basket at 52-49 moments later. This version of the Patriots was not from New England and really had no business being in a single possession game with this Yavneh team but as the free throws continued to clang here they were. To the rescue came Tyler Winton. A steal and a one-legged floater in the middle of the paint McBucketsed a stunned Thomas Jefferson defensive line. After TJ responded to once again crawl to within 54-51, Schwaber threw his second no look pass of the game to Winton for another big basket out of a double team. This time TJ had met its match as a Prager steal to Rael, a Winton steal to Schwaber, and an Oster free throw that sent the crowd into a frenzy (as they saw one go in finally) held off the pesky Patriots. On this night at Loos Field House, everyone felt a part of the Loos. 7/23 free throws is difficult to overcome but somehow the Bulldogs found a way on this night. Mason Schwaber led the way with an 18 point, 10 rebound, and 6 assist Double-Double. Avery Levy was spectacular with 10 points and 6 rebounds in a game that timing was everything for the Junior. Jason Prager also scored in double figures with 10 points to go along with 7 assists. Tyler Winton added 9 points and had 7 steals, and came up huge late in this game in winning time. Ben Rael also scored 8 points while TJ’s Johnathan Ware led all scorers with 23 points in a losing effort.
Yavneh (7-1) will get another chance to play a more crisp game against a 5A DISD team when Sunset comes into the SRC Tuesday night. They will need to play better in all aspects, specifically in the areas of ball security, free throws, and rebounding. While the Bulldogs have controlled the series of late, Sunset has been much improved the last 3 years and won at Yavneh before. With only one final tune-up before this team heads to Baltimore for the Weiner Tournament, this group is in desperate need for a strong end to November.
The Kennel Report, now in its 16th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack +XF M&M
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