Yavneh defeated Denton Calvary Academy 55-51 Tuesday night in a TAPPS 3A Round of 16 AREA playoff game. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 26-6 and keeps the season alive.
If the Playoffs are a Second Season, full of surprises, twists, intrigue, and a whole bunch of nothing that has been seen in the first 31 games, then everything went perfectly according to the script Tuesday. All in a nights work, Yavneh started the game looking like a team that was going to get run out of its own building, seemingly righted the ship, then froze the game for half a quarter, took control, and held on for dear life in one of the zaniest Area playoff games in Texas basketball history. Something just seemed off from the start as the #4 seed Denton Calvary from District 1, well under .500 in both district and overall, simply could not miss to begin the contest. Interesting that a team that has never lost at home in a TAPPS playoff game not only fell behind against a sub-par opponent to start the game but actually trailed for the majority of the opening stanza. A three-point shooting barrage from the Lions put Yavneh in serious peril as they were leaking oil aplenty. A three pointer right off the opening tip seemed harmless enough but of the first 7 points only a pair of Ofek Reef free throws belonged to the home team. Zach Bernstein BN, playing the final home game of his storied career regardless of the outcome, produced the first field goal for the Bulldogs by seeking out Reef for a wing three ball that deceptively appeared to stem the tide. Jacob Helzer was awesome for Calvary, answering the bell and matching Reef from distance for an 11-5 lead three minutes in. Yavneh was getting to the free throw line but just could not get it going from the field. Another from the land of the three surged the Lions to a 14-6 edge, sending an unfamiliar apprehension through at least half of the capacity crowd. The most critical moments of this game, as it would turn out, were these struggling moments in which Yavneh chose not to fire up jumpers to chase the game…at least yet. Instead, Reef attacked the basket and found his way to the charity stripe which seemed to slow down a game that was getting away. Four consecutive free throws for the Senior sensation were enormous in making up ground on the scoreboard and more importantly from a momentum perspective. Jonah Eber notched a clutch steal during this sequence and finished at the basket to complement the free throws with just the second made field goal. Those six straight points challenged Calvary but the capper to the 9-0 run that could go down as one of the most timely in school history given what was at stake would be electric. Reef finished on an AND-ONE one-legged runner for a 15-14 lead, the first for a Bulldog team that had survived a tumultuous start. The first period saw Calvary out-shoot Yavneh by 8% and make all four of its three pointers but the Bulldogs conversely shot 8/9 from the free throw line to account for more than half of their total points. Yavneh made an attempt to pull away early in the second period as Bernstein flipped in a runner on the baseline with some crazy arc and English for a 17-14 edge. On any other night that shot may have cracked a visiting squad but the Lions would respond with two more shocking long distance bombs for a 6/6 start from three and the 6-0 response that propelled them back into the lead. Mason Schwaber delivered a counter with two nice finishes in the paint, one a mid-post score with contact and the other an at-the-basket special. Bernstein and Reef created those baskets and Mount Mason knocked them down to surge his team ahead 22-21. Schwaber would assist Reef on a rolling finish a short time later to extend the margin to three points again but Calvary flipped the game in their favor once last time with another 6 straight points. At 26-23, this #4 seed had found themselves after squandering an early 8-point lead and had gotten off the deck twice to regain control. And then….the last 3:40 of the first half happened. The Bulldogs engineered a season-saving 11-0 splash that was triggered by two tough finishes. Reef and Schwaber finished AND-ONEs right at the hoop to flip the game for what seemed like the 8th time of this contest already. The best string of defensive stops to this point met a Schwaber hand-off assist to Reef for a 31-26 lead, the first multi-possession advantage of the night for Yavneh. The teams would trade charges late in the half with Bernstein’s side-swiping take a half make-up call and half legendary momentum sealer. The back-breaking moment finished off the run and the half with a Tyler C Winton bank trifecta in which he was winking at the crowd well before the ball settled between the iron and the net. 34-26 was the largest lead for the Bulldogs and a 6-point margin for halftime was a result of power outlasting finesse. Six triples for Denton Calvary versus 10/12 free throws for Yavneh and a 16-8 rebounding advantage led to the wild back-and-forth first 16 minutes. The six perfect three pointers and only a 6-point lead seemed ominous for Calvary, and with only 11 of the 20 combined turnovers the visitors could not have asked for much more.
Fans expecting to see the patented second half run for the Bulldogs out of the locker room were hopeful to start the third period. Winton picked up a crafty steal that led to a Pelican finish at the tin by Bernstein, showing off yet another ball spin variety that is his specialty. A Reef free throw moments later gave the Red-and-Black their first double-digit lead of the night. 40-32 was the score with just under 5 minutes to play in the third period when the game just stood still. In an epic standoff, the Lions refused to come out and pressure Reef who was content to dribble away all but the last 10 seconds of the third quarter. Strange in an elimination and trailing by 8 points with the time ticking away on their season that Calvary would not pressure but this type of standoff is not foreign to Yavneh. In 2000, Noam Scott dribbled out the clock for over 7 minutes and the Bulldogs also found their way into the Finals of the Rambam Tournament years ago in Baltimore, outfoxing the defensive points allowed tiebreaker in a similar plot twist. This just seemed different as a team allowed their season to be shrunk to just a single quarter trailing by three possessions. As it was, Yavneh held for a final shot but Reef was called for his second and even more questionable charging violation. So the fourth period rolled in with the same 40-32 lead and Eber found Schwaber for the first points in this game in over 6 minutes. The game was a possession game as the pace infinitely increased but only one of the teams had Ofek Reef on their side and they were holding a double-digit lead. A rack attack and a nice backdoor cut off a Schwaber feed melted the game under 5 minutes to play and still a lead of double digits. Calvary scored just six points in the first 13 minutes of the second half but picked it up once again from three point range from there, led by a determined and ambidextrous Helzer. He trimmed the lead to 46-39 with 2:31 remaining behind a timely 5-0 spurt but it was hard to imagine Calvary being able to make up three possessions in such little time. Unlike most of third period where they were watching dust mites multiply amongst the SRC light fixtures, Denton Calvary now was pressuring all over the place in hopes of creating turnovers to climb back into the game. Tyler Winton, however, did a Splittsville McBucket dance to the hoop for an AND-NONE finish that drove the lead right back to 9 points. Helzer continued to battle but the Bulldogs made enough of their free throws in the final minute to go along with a finishing Reef to Schwaber long pass and finish. The game would become as close as the final four point margin but only a trio of seconds remaining as this very underwhelming Area playoff game would go in the books as a Survive-and-Advance victory that counts for the same one win as any circumstance in which more points than the opponent were recorded. Ofek Reef scored 27 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and connected on 10/12 free throws in a signature playoff Double-Double Tour de Force. Mason Schwaber added 13 points while Tyler Winton made a pair of threes to headline his 9 points. Winton’s 5 steals combined with Zach Bernstein and Jonah Eber for 10 take-aways, essential to the victory.
Yavneh (26-6) is into the Regional Final round for the third straight year and is once again just one win from a third straight State Tournament appearance. While there is no question that this team will need to play much better to beat the likes of any of their next 3 potential opponents should they continue to advance, they are in great shape to make a run at a State title. Lake Country Christian, a high-flying run and gun team that leads the planet in three point attempts is next up Saturday night at a neutral site TBD. This Fort Worth squad provides a solid challenge with their spurtability and fast pace. With a ticket to Waco for the Final Four at stake, the game should be an absolute war.
The Kennel Report, now in its 15th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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