Yavneh defeated Shelton 74-63 Tuesday evening to improve the Bulldogs record to a perfect 3-0.
In their first regional test of the young season, the Yavneh Bulldogs had more trouble staying out of their own way than anything else. With the seemingly hapless Shelton squad thoroughly worn out by the start of the fourth quarter, Yavneh’s self-inflicted wounds caused many of the problems Tuesday night while the Bulldogs cruised to victory on the court. Injuries to Senior Sam Pulitzer, and scoring stars David Naxon and Erez Krengel were the only thing that could sour the rout that Yavneh put on. Shelton was much bigger on the interior, led by very talented Freshman Cole Collins but their youth and inexperience showed many times throughout the game. They seemed to be in a state of shock from the beginning, eliminating any chance they had to compete. Naxon (The Jumpin Junior) opened the game with his best scoring stretch of the season. He and Sophomore Bradley Alhadef started the game by scoring the first 12 points. Naxon himself started 3/4 and seemed to be on his way to a career game. With 1:56 left in the first quarter, Naxon was tackled by Cole Collins at the basket. Naxon went up strong and earned the two free throws that he calmly hit. That foul was the only real statement Shelton was able to make Tuesday night. Yavneh led 18-8 after a turnover-laced quarter concluded to open the game. 16 seconds into the second quarter, the fate of Yavneh’s young season took a turn for the worse. The Jumpin Junior stole the ball at center-court and was hightailing towards the basket. Deciding to attempt the dunk instead of laying the ball in the basket, Naxon seemed to lose his footing. Early prognostications are that he may have torn some knee ligaments. Shortly after Naxon was helped off the court, Senior Post Sam Pulitzer went down with a much less sever twisted ankle. That left substitution necessities for both squads in Miles Pulitzer and Joe Lerer. Lerer picked up the slack for Pulitzer, scoring 3 important baskets. A long second quarter with many, many fouls ensued. Yavneh closed the half on a run, leading 41-25 at the break. Shelton made their one and only run to start the second half, rattling off the first 4 points. Erez Krengel had seen enough. After suffering through 3/11 shooting in the first half, Krengel kicked himself into his “Ice” gear, scoring many of his game-high 26 points in the quarter. Before anyone knew it, the score had ballooned to 63-43 in favor of Yavneh. While “Ice” provided the scoring punch needed for the ultimate separation, the game was locked down with superb post play/dirty work surgically performed by the triumvirate of Aviv Schor, Charlie Saginaw, and Michael San Soucie. Schor was busy digging out a Yavneh season-high 13 rebounds. Saginaw easily had his breakout performance with 7 total and 5 offensive rebounds as well as 5 big points. San Soucie won the war in the trenches by diving and sprawling and deflecting loose balls all evening. The Bulldogs 20-point lead entering the fourth quarter allowed them to coast to the finish without threat. The biggest action in the final quarter had to be when Alhadef got called for a malicious offensive foul for the second straight game. Alhadef is quickly developing an enforcer reputation among local referees. William Zalstein racked up five more assists in the win and Alhadef had 8 steals to cap his night. Krengel once again led the way for the Bulldogs with 26 points while Miles Kelly, sporting Gavi Wolk– replica RecSpecs, paced Shelton with 13 points. Naxon will have an MRI later this week at which time his status should be determined. Pulitzer is day-to-day and should return on Thursday. Krengel was held out in the late stages of the game with a slight muscle pull and will likely be ready Thursday after some time in the JCC whirlpool. The healthy remains of
Yavneh (3-0) will play the North Hills School on Thursday. North Hills of Irving has been a great rival for Yavneh over the past several years, splitting games with them last season. They are led by a new coach this season.
The Kennel Report is written by Zack Pollack