Yavneh defeated McKinney Christian Academy 71-48 Thursday night.
So here’s the thing: Griffin Levine and Ofek Reef play college basketball in New York City USA….and Yavneh still has a boys Varsity basketball team….that allegedly could possibly potentially be pretty good. The afore-mentioned group of 15 (13 active for Game numero Uno) did little Thursday night other than dismantle McKinney Christian in their gym behind sizzling outside shooting. The Senior starting trio of Jonah Eber, Tyler C Winton, and Mason Schwaber did not disappoint, combining for 34 points and 22 rebounds. While disconnecting on free throws is vintage Bulldogs Nation (14 of them on opening night in total), Junior transfer Jason Prager began his Yavneh career like no player to precede him. Courtesy of a Mustang player hanging on the rim pre-game, Prager was able to record his first pair of misfires from the free throw line before he had logged even one official second of game action as a Yavneh player. Once the game began in earnest, and contrary to the dismal shooting from outside the entire nation witnessed from many of this group a year ago, a three-point shootout broke out. It did not take long for Winton to remind his fans that a) his name is still McBuckets and b) even when he is on the court he is never too far to give them a personal play-by-play account. His backboard-aided trifecta indeed netted the first points of 2019-20 and a 3-0 lead. Prager answered a McKinney triple with a wing splash of his own, scoring on his first shot from the field courtesy of an Eber skip assist. The Senior tri-captain, moving his game southward this season to more of an inside role, was locked in all night long. A sweet jump hook off the first Schwaber assist of the year pushed the Bulldogs out to an 8-3 advantage. Winton’s runner again off glass, the first Schwaber inside bucket of the season, and a Ben Rael cousin to cousin transition finish gave Yavneh a 14-5 first period lead. Rael was more of a crossbuck than a Raelroad on this night, taking three charges in majestic fashion. The first of those were the catalyst for a 16-0 run late in the opening stanza. Prager assisted Eber at the rack, turning a dime into easy money and then a role reversal saw the two connect on another Prager triple. The Bulldogs assault on the three point stripe was not finished as the run was capped with Winton and Prager bringing rain on two more long distance connections. In all, Yavneh led after eight minutes by a score of 29-10, shooting 64% from the field behind 5/6 three point shooting. To even remember the sub-20% three point shooting from a year ago seemed an archaic thought as Yavneh began to parade its tremendous depth off the bench early in the second period of this night. Sophomore Hillel Baynash, playing in his first Varsity game and known to most that follow the game as Treynash, drilled a pair of three balls almost instantly off nice dishes from Prager. Rael got in on the act with a corner hit as clearly you just had to show up with a black-and-red uniform Thursday to make a three pointer. The first half concluded with a side-show of the new look Tom Oster. TO (now undoubtedly standing for Technical Order) looked confident, quick, and flashy as he darted the assist on Rael’s corner jumper and then put a Mustang guard on skates during his sprint to the hoop for a 44-24 halftime lead. 58% shooting including an unfathomable 8/9 from distance told the story. A 20-point advantage that included 6 missed free throws and 11 offensive rebounds allowed could have been 30-40 on an opening night that was supposed to include some tentative rust. Prager’s 11 points led the way followed by Winton with 6 but it was Eber’s 6/6/6 line that anchored the balance and depth that was most encouraging through 16 minutes of a loooong season.
While the shooting would not continue to be of another world in the second half, the energy and depth of this team wore down McKinney. Right out of the locker room, Prager’s steal and TD pass to Winton pushed the lead to 46-25. The tipping point came moments later with Rael taking back-to-back charges to completely demoralize the Mustangs and end any competitive hope for this contest. With that massive momentum swing, Schwaber assisted on a Prager triple and scored off a great pass from Noah Ohayon, who was extremely active in the third period. In fact, Ohayon and Schwaber went three consecutive possessions by stat stuffing rebounds, assists, and blocks in legendary fashion. The highlight of those was a sequence where Schwaber built his own resume with a block, rebound, and assist all in one motion to Eber for a finish with contact. Senior Simcha Malina also set up two more Eber points on an offensive-rebound assist, while Oster beat the third period buzzer with a second last second-follow put back at the rim for a 60-32 edge. There would be little drama in the final 8 minutes of this game but the defensive efforts of the Bulldogs to hold a home team to under 50 points this early in the season was impressive. Junior transfer Avery Levy added to the defensive depth of this team that finished with a strong effort in Game #1 right up until the final buzzer sounded. Senior Reece Parker and Junior Elisha Jaws Klein were the only perfect entrants at the free throw line on a night that was extremely underwhelming from the charity stripe. Klein also finished in tri-nsition as only he can do, collecting a missile full-court dart from Senior Reece Neiman and punctuating that basket for FOUR points on the night. Jonah Eber led all scorers with 15 points and also added 7 rebounds/6 assists. Jason Prager’s 14 point/6 steal/4 assist debut lived up to the hype and feels like just a scratch on the surface of what we will see. Tyler Winton also netted double-figures with 10 points, while Mason Schwaber narrowly escaped a double-double with 9 points to go along with his 13 big-time rebounds.
Yavneh (1-0) was impressive in their opener and seems to not have lost a beat. While Overreaction Friday acknowledges that this is one game, McKinney Christian is not playing on ESPN+ in national showcase games, and winning on the coattails of the three pointer cannot be a lifeline, this team has tremendous depth, will only get better, and seems to have the potential to reach uncapped heights this season. A brutal 5-game in 8-day stretch will both test the mettle of this team and allow the world to have a clearer perspective of what this team can be. That carnival starts at Arlington’s Burton Adventist on Monday night and will ramp up at breakneck speed from there. Can the Senior trio of Schwaber, Eber, Winton along with the talents of Prager be a driving force for greatness? Can Rael really give this team the grit he displayed Thursday for a full season to cement a starting lineup to be feared across all the land? Can the 10-man bench continue to be a buffet of talent coming in hot one after the other like we saw in Game #1? Is this the beginning of a truly special group that reach heights that are no longer hoped for but expected in these parts?
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!!!
The Kennel Report, now beginning its 16th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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