Yavneh defeated Midland Classical Academy 68-56 Friday afternoon in a TAPPS 3A Semifinal playoff game. The win improves the Bulldogs season record to 30-3 and sends the Bulldogs to the State Championship game for a second time in school history.
YAVNEH WILL PLAY FOR THE TAPPS 3A CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY NIGHT IN WEST, TEXAS….It was essentially a one man show trying to end the State championship hopes for Yavneh Friday….and he came remotely close to doing just that. After a 6-2 start that included finishes by Ben Rael and Jonah Eber, Midland Classical reeled off 5 straight points to take a lead. Eber spin-cycled his way to a lead as part of his strong and active first period. The game stayed tight throughout the first half from that point and the tension was high. 12-12 was the score after one period of play with Cort Miller scoring 9 of the 12 points for the Knights. The second period never was played within a 5-point window with neither team leading by more than 3 points. A Mason Schwaber up-and-under special preceded a Tyler C Winton bank-shot triple. Winton would connect on a pair of three pointers but it would take Noah Ohayon’s baseline jumper mere seconds before the end of the first half just to stake the Bulldogs to a 24-22 halftime advantage. Jonah Eber scored his 1000th point as a Yavneh Bulldog almost poetically on an AND-NONE signature play in an epic half for Texas best do-everything player.
Jason Prager, ultimately the difference maker in this game, started the third period with a nice reverse layup and then added a corner triple. Cort Miller, who completely dominated the game outside, inside, and on the glass for the Knights, went through a stretch in the third period that most likely cost his team a chance to win. Yavneh ran well for a stretch, connected on shots consistently, and scored in transition off pressure defense and forced turnovers. Schwaber’s spinner and Eber’s kick-save steal AND AIR finish pushed the lead to double digits at 37-27. Prager was unconscious in this third period and helped his team gain an 11-point edge after three periods of play. Cort Miller dominated the final period, in which Midland scored an insane 25 points. Prager responded to every run Miller engineered but steals for touchdown passes kept the Bulldogs in the lead. The Knights employed a Hack-a-Tyler strategy but he connected on 5/6 free throws. Three straight steals and Miller heroics cut the lead to 56-52 but the free throws of Ben Rael’s life connected and Winton rifled an assist to seal the game. Jason Prager exploded for 21 points while Jonah Eber, Mason Schwaber, and Tyler Winton all finished in double figures. Cort Miller finished with an obscene 32 points in a valiant but losing effort.
Yavneh (30-3) will play for its and a Jewish team’s first state basketball championship. Amazingly, Beren Academy of Houston will play for the same feat in the same building at essentially the same time in a different wing of West High School just a bit north of Waco, Texas. How will this most special Saturday night in Texas Jewish basketball history turn out???????
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!!
The Kennel Report, now in its 16th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack +XF M&M
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