Yavneh defeated Faith Academy Marble Falls 76-60 Monday night in a TAPPS 3A Regional quarter-FINAL playoff game. The win improves the Bulldogs season record to 29-3 and sends the Bulldogs to the State Tournament for a ridiculous fourth straight year.
YAVNEH IS GOING BACK TO STATE….again to complete the quartet of appearances in a Final 4 that has become a scheduled event for this Senior class. What happens when you combine two teams that live, breathe, and eat off pressure defense with a oil-slick gym floor straight out of the 1920s and a referee crew that operatically specializes in a concerto of The Whistle? That’s right!! You get a first team to 30 turnover contest for the right to end your season just an eyelash from the State semifinals. This game had a fast pace despite the constant interruptions for traveling violations and errant passes on both sides right from the outset. Ben Rael went 3D early in this game with a corner trifecta that erased the initial lead off an opening baseline drive by Faith. An assist to Jonah Eber and a charge take saw Rael set the tone in this game and this looked for all the world like the Bulldogs were going to shell shock the Flames like they have the tendency to do when Rael plays this way. Eber’s rolling finish and then an assist to Mason Schwaber for 7 straight points and a 5-point edge were fueled by 4 turnovers in just 85 seconds of game action. Schwaber seemed to really rattle this team early and present a matchup problem that they had never seen in their 6100 person abode 38 miles wayyyy north of Austin. Faith Academy featured no less than a trio of high-flying athletes with decent size who could attack the rim at any time led by multi-sport stud and premier Yoga instructor Senior Colby Offutt. But they clearly had never experienced 6”8 with the patience and dexterity of Schwaber, whose up-and-under spectacular finish surged Yavneh to a 9-4 lead. Both teams were playing a bit too fast as the first period progressed, and it was apparent early on that this game would be a turnover fest. It was a very ragged period overall, which allowed the Flames to engineer a 11-4 run that flipped the game into a Faith lead at 13-11. The frenetic pace of the game allowed this game to see-saw for much of the opening stanza in what really was a surreal environment. Forget the fact that you had both coaches yelling “TYLER” at the top of their lungs after turnovers (Winton and Kwan who would both show you their worst and their absolute best within this wild game) Eber finished on a nice righty scoop finish as he was locked in all night long regardless of calf, stomach, and whatever other issues he may have been battling through. The biggest response basket of the night (and there would be several) may very well have been that possession with the Bulldogs trailing 13-11 and foul issues beginning to mount with already a starter remanded to the bench. Junior transfer out of Far East Dallas Avery Levy calmly turned a soft Eber pass into a critical foul line jumper to knot the score at 13-13. That play kick-started a 7-1 ending to the first period to calm the game down for the Bulldogs. Tyler C Winton would bury his first triple of the night to gain back the lead and Levy would hook up with a slicing Eber to end the period. While the shooting was even, Yavneh attempted 6 more shots courtesy of a 15-5 rebounding advantage and benefitted from Offutt’s two fouls that saddled him on the bench for too much of this first half. The Bulldogs actually led the turnover brigade with 10 to Faith’s 9 in what was shaping up to be a big-time story line in this game. And if that was not enough, both teams started the second period by adding a +1 to their respective turnover counts. An 18-14 lead for Yavneh after one period was tense and as insecure as any of the ball security being featured in this contest. But similar to the third period of the Denton Calvary playoff game that saw a 25-0 explosion in the blink of an eye, the Red-and-Black put on a mini-encore performance of that in this defining second period. In a series of wacky events that included 2 foul quarantines for Rael, Winton, and Levy, a forced jersey swap to where Mount Mason’s bloodied laundry was swapped out for that of the tiniest player on either bench, and an accidental basket, the Bulldogs bullied their way to a 19-3 run that launched them into the State Tournament for all intents and purposes. It seemed almost harmless when Schwaber’s own rebound attempt was redirected by a Flame high-jumper into the basket for two gift points. With Offutt ready to come back into the game and waiting at the scorers table, an errant free throw glanced off the rim with the score at 20-14. Who would have known that Offutt would still be sitting awaiting re-entry to the game with his pair of fouls for a stretch that really would decide this regional final. Shockingly without a whistle, Yavneh dissected the Flames defense like no other time in this game courtesy of the playoff arrival for one Noah Ohayon. Three scorching power finishes at the rim courtesy of Schwaber/Eber assists were complemented by a demoralizing Jason Prager scoop and score from half-court for the dagger on this run. SHOhayon was an absolute vacuum and once again proves how this particular team is so deep and so opportunistic that you just never know who it will be providing the punch on any given night in Waco, Texas. Elisha Klein added a nice assist to Eber for a floater in the lane and an even nicer touch-pass helper for the Prager corner triple that busted the game wide open at 37-17. Faith would salvage the final moments of the first half with an 8-2 stretch but the damage had been done to the tune of a 39-25 halftime lead. 24-8 was the rebounding edge, 34-16 was the shot differential, and 18 forced turnovers were huge. If not for the foul issues and a 16-2 insane disadvantage in free throw attempts, this game could have been well in the rear view mirror.
Faith Academy was 21-2 on the season for a reason and this veteran crew was not going to fold. They knew how to chuck long distance shots, set up pressure that was sure to make the game ragged enough to make headway in forcing turnovers, and absolutely attacked the offensive glass with an urgency that their dream season was coming to an end. Despite a Winton TW3 and a Schwaber slice to the basket, the lead was slowly dwindling to a 10-point margin. The turnovers began to mount for the Bulldogs as this game was now being played on the Flames terms. As ugly as this game got for the Bulldogs, they had the double-digit lead and would make a play or hit a shot every time Faith threatened to advance further than to within 10 points. The biggest swing during the third period came on a Schwaber offensive rebound to save a possession up just 48-38. His dancing save on the deep sideline found Winton for another three ball and a 13-point edge. Rael, almost from his knees and maybe with a quarter of one eyelid open, deposited another corner heave to end the third period with the Bulldogs winning 56-40. With the teams entering the final chapter of one of their playoff runs with a 22-20 turnover game within the game score, it would be the Tylers that shined the brightest. Eber finished for 58-43 but Tyler Kwan, a sensational Marble Falls Sophomore guard caught fire and was doing work on the offensive glass. While both teams were in double-figures in terms of offensive rebounding, the Flames used the final period as their time to assert themselves on second chance opportunities. And it put the game right back at the 10-point margin that this game seemed to live at for most of the second half. With one side hopeful that they could crawl even closer and the other side just waiting for one more mini-run to put the game away, only 5:33 remained and the score was 60-50. Winton started a break with an out-route to Prager for a nice Levy lefty finish and then pilfered a basketball for a rushing touchdown for 62-50. Kwan was special and proved that he will be a terror for years to come as the Flames switch to the 2A classification next year with his shooting and rebounding. But the final words on this night were spoken by his namesake, one McBuckets Tyler C Winton. Taking several gulps of ice water, Winton’s floater and wing triple on consecutive possessions separated the Bulldogs and started the march to…..well back to Waco later this week. It is difficult to call any of these shots daggers as they just kept on rolling in. When conventional wisdom might ask for a double-digit advantage to slow the game down under 3 minutes, Winton fired off another attempt that was nothing but string music off the pass from Prager courtesy of a steal. Reece Parker and the backboard helped Klein tomahawk one last in a series of three pointers that officially salted this game away. 33 forced turnovers were the final tally and a +10 on the boards despite a ferocious rally from Marble Falls late that would not nearly be enough. Appropriately on a night that the Bulldogs stole their way to a fourth straight State Tournament, all-time co-conspirators Jonah Eber and Tyler Winton led the way with 20 points each. Eber added 8 assists and 6 rebounds, and was awesome in this game. Tyler Winton, who predicted that his class would be back to the Final 4 all four years on the floor in Abilene as a Freshmen, could not have been more of a soothsayer as his vision came true. But more importantly, Winton notched a career-high with 20 points on 5/6 three point shooting to accompany 5 steals and 4 assists. Mason Schwaber added 12 points and celebrated several career highs, the most memorable of which is his 15 rebound mammoth feat. Jason Prager’s 4 assists, the rebounding efforts of Avery Levy/Ben Rael, and the three field goals for Noah Ohayon’s 6 points all factored in this enormous victory for the program.
Yavneh (29-3) will get their rematch with Midland Classical to avenge their State Semifinal loss from a year ago. Having to deal with only half as many Miller brothers but needing to find a way to speed up a team with Liberty Christian and HAFTR style snails pace basketball (accounting for the only trio of losses this season) are some of the challenges that lie ahead on Friday. This is a different Midland team, a different Yavneh team, and should be an electric environment come late Friday morning in Robinson, Texas. Can the Bulldogs get revenge and surge their way into the State Final? Will this group continue to sprint their way through TAPPS 3A, stepping into deeper waters now two games from a State Championship? What is the legacy that these heralded Seniors, now playing at their all-time best, will leave with support from this deepest of teams?
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!!
The Kennel Report, now in its 16th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack +XF M&M
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