Yavneh defeated the Mae Boyar High School of Jerusalem Israel 63-48 and then lost to the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway 58-47 in the third/fourth of five preliminary games at the The 32nd Annual Joseph and Florence Weiner Memorial Tournament in Baltimore, Maryland Thursday. They have clinched a spot in the tournament Semifinals for the sixth straight year and will have a chance Friday to earn the right to defend their back to back titles in Baltimore. The Bulldogs season record is now 10-3.
It was Splittsville for Yavneh Thursday in Baltimore as two hotly contested games with physically pounding teams took its toll as the Bulldogs approached the finish line of four games in less than 30 hours. Boyar has always been a tricky matchup for the Red-and-Black with their relentless physical game and sometimes disregard for one, two, or eight hand checks at a time. Mason Schwaber instantly made a statement with a put-back while absorbing contact for the game’s first basket but an early seesaw affair had this team that had won 16 straight games at this tournament in a dog-fight nearly one virtual year to the day after seeing Boyar play them to within one point a year ago (the closest win of 2017-18) Or Cohen, known widely as the greatest shooter across the globe and the solar system, drilled a pair of early moon shots from distance but ThrEber was in effect early and Zach Bernstein finished strong to score the first 5 points and trail only 9-8. The Bulldogs grabbed the lead back at 10-9 as Tyler C Winton assisted Ofek Reef out of the corner for a nice roll to the hoop. The game would swing with each passing possession until Schwaber added one more tip follow, Reef drained a pair of free throws, and Schwaber showed off his two-sport proficiency with a long TD pass to Jonah Eber for a right hand concluding statement. That outburst had the Bulldogs ahead 16-11 after one period of play in what just seemed like a strange game. The shooting was poor on both sides and the game was very physical with low turnovers, a developing issue for a Yavneh team that fuels themselves on forcing giveaways. The Bulldogs were able to maintain a slight advantage on the scoreboard throughout the second quarter thanks in no small part to the Shots Heard Round the World registered by one Simcha Malina. His pair of free throws were immaculate shotput explosions where the basketball seemed as if it was running late for dinner on its way to finding a home within the basket on both occasions. While Boyar handled the ball better than most teams, Yavneh was still able to find some energy with little separation available in terms of margin. Zach Bernstein’s fancy steal and ShowTime completion attempt may have been equivalent to a sauce that was left out of the refrigerator rotting for a decade or so but it created a lane for Reef to swoop in for a huge second chance bucket. That 25-20 lead tied the biggest of the first half but Boyar was able to travel all the way to the States for this tournament and all the way around the court in that first half, occasionally knocking down some shots from distance. This game would have been all square at halftime if not for an in-rhythm splash zone triple by Winton in the 14th minute just before the break. The first half shooting was ugly, Israelis from both teams were the only players in double figures, and this was looking like a grind it out coin flip game for the second year in a row. Every time it seemed as if Yavneh gained some separation, it would simply dissipate. Schwaber found Eber for a leaning finish and 32-27 but Boyar would slow break to crawl within a single point once again. As the game got even more physical, chippy, and a bit ugly, the Bulldogs needed something to spark them. Maybe foul trouble for Ofek Reef was just that spark, and maybe not for just this game. Reef, saddled with 3 questionable foul calls, needed desperately to have someone else pick up his backpack that he has carried so well in these first 12 games. But Schwaber got big in the paint almost instantly, Winton looked like the TW3 of old in burying another pair of downtown laser beam triples, and Eber was everywhere assisting, finishing, and providing the spark. A 9-0 explosion was capped by an Eber punishing finish on an offensive rebound where he dished out the body blow contact that Boyar so often demonstrates themselves. The energy and enthusiasm from Winton and Schwaber propelled this second half run that was needed on so many levels. With Reef on the bench, this team unequivocally took control of the game, Mason Schwaber had arrived in Baltimore much better late than never, and a 17th straight Weiner tournament victory was all but sealed. Upon Reef’s return it was simply lights out and quite possibly the encouraging sign that will pay future dividends in this tournament and beyond. Reece Parker fittingly made a pair of free throws to propel Yavneh over 60 points late in his favorite quarter as a semifinal had once again been clinched with two pool play games yet to play. Four players scored in double figures, highlighted by Mason Schwaber’s 14 point/13 rebound double-double. Ofek Reef led the team with 17 points behind 11/12 free throw shooting. Jonah Eber and Tyler Winton added 12 and 10 points respectively in strong games for each.
While Yavneh was able to overcome Boyar without forcing 20 turnovers, HAFTR was a much different story. It is hard to say whether the pace of play, fatal mistake after mistake defensively in the full court and half court, or a frigid wintry mix of Siberian chill (even for 2018 standards) adding up to an 0/20 three pointers ultimately did the Bulldogs in or whether it was a perfect storm of all three. Outside of some Jonah Eber free throws, a Zach Bernstein transition scoop and score, and the typical Ofek Reef tip follow amongst five defenders, something was off right from the start for Yavneh in this game. The pace was 100% in the court of HAFTR, who seemed like pigs in mud with the slow, slower, and slowest progression of this contest. Eber had a nice drop-off pass to Schwaber but HAFTR led for almost the entire first period, a lead they would never really relinquish. The activity picked up from the likes of Eber and Winton in the second period but very little finishing was accompanying these advances. The shooting was surreal. At times this season the Bulldogs have thrown up errant shot after errant shot but on this night it was almost as if it just was not meant to be with no less than 7 of the 20 missed three pointers rimming the basket to unluckily bounce out. Schwaber tied the score at 20-20 on the most fantastic post seal of his career but as was par for the course in this game, not 30 seconds later HAFTR was back to a four-point advantage. Reef found Schwaber On The Run????? to capture some late first half momentum trimming the lead to 27-24 but the final three points went to the NY squad and the game would never be within a single score again. As HAFTR built a double-digit lead, even the shots Yavneh was making did not seem like a good thing. Reef connected on a fade away prayer that found paydirt but it was almost a sense of defeat as those shots were not going to be the answer….not even close. Schwaber found Ben Rael slipping to the basket for one nice finish as slight glimmers of hope kept the game within reason at 40-30. Eber sliced and diced his way to the basket and at long last Reef got a patented steal for a slam dunk late in the third period to swim within 43-35 and still one big quarter to go. It seemed like for all the world that the Bulldogs were back when, on the first possessions of the final stanza, Reef took a Rael pass right down the baseline for a great driving finish and a 43-37 score. But the Bulldogs could not get out of their own way as they kept reverting back to hoisting long jump shots that for whatever reason were not going to fall. Even with the 9-3 run that they engineered going to the basket and having major success, the fourth period turned into another sequel to New Jack City Part 8. Ofek Reef scored 27 points and pulled down 11 rebounds while Mason Schwaber and Jonah Eber tallied 8 points apiece but a battle of wills was won by HAFTR…keyword battle and not WAR.
Yavneh (10-3) is no worse for the wear in terms of outlook for this tournament. They sit with one pool play game remaining that will determine only semifinal seeding against their quite possible future opponent in the Semis and host Beth Tfiloh. The Bulldogs will play their semifinal game at Noon Dallas time with a Saturday night Finals spot on the line and a still a great chance to Three-Peat at the Weiner Tournament. There is no question that a potential rematch with HAFTR would be an intriguing prospect for the weekend as Thursday was not even close to a best effort from the Bulldogs. Will Yavneh bounce back, right the ship, and storm back into yet another potentially epic stage Saturday night in prime time? Can the Bulldogs dispatch Harris Gartenhaus and his new run-and-gun Beth Tfiloh squad that has been touted as the rising sensation of 2018-19? Can the Red-and-Black return to pay back HAFTR and this time play Yavneh basketball???
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!!
The Kennel Report, now in its 15th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
TL-BW-SP-BR
PTST3