Yavneh defeated Texoma Christian School of Sherman, Texas 58-43 Tuesday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 17-5 (4-0).
In a 1 vs 1 heavyweight battle for the drivers seat in TAPPS 3A District 2, Texoma Christian knocked Yavneh to the basement floor. But alas, in miraculous fashion AKA a 19-1 run spanning two quarters -and two halves, the Bulldogs responded behind 41 points from their inside tag team of Mason Schwaber (13) and Ofek Reef (28). From the beginning, in a land far away from metro DFW, the Red-and-Black could not get a true rhythm. Three Reef offensive rebounds resulted in the first Yavneh basket while Jonah Eber drove to the basket and threw a nice lob pass for the early offense. Meanwhile, Texoma was scoring to match every trip down the floor There were five changes of the lead in the opening stanza, which see-sawed at every turn. Schwaber’s cross-court feed to Reef for a wing triple pushed the Bulldogs into the lead at 9-8 but Weston Chaddick was just the latest guard to find early hot shooting from downtown against Yavneh. He connected for 12 of his 15 points in the first half while the visitors needed everything Reef could give them early to stay in the game. Eber set him up on a nice out-of-bounds pass to tie the score at 11-11 but it was the Eagles who held the 15-12 advantage after one period of play. It was as if this game was being played in a parallel universe as Texoma held a shooting edge and forced three to Yavneh’s two turnovers. The lightbulb, usually certain to turn on after a quarter like that, continued to barely flicker as the Bulldog offense could muster nothing but tip follows. Reef and Schwaber battled for those second chance opportunities but the Eagles held a 20-16 lead. Eber sliced to the hoop for what seemed like a momentum changing AND-ONE but the plague of this team’s missed free throw continued (2/8 for the game) and the 3-point play became just a common basket. Thomas Barnett splashed a three pointer at the other end, igniting a mini 5-0 spurt that somehow found the 2018-19 Yavneh Bulldogs in serious peril of losing their 21-game TAPPS regular season winning streak. 25-18 was not insurmountable but it sure felt as if this team was going to get run out of the building if something did not change. Mr Fourth Quarter, sensing the moment, darted a pass to Reef for an immediate wing three point response. The pass by Junior Reece Parker may have been a simple play but it was exactly the kind of fundamental effort that this team was so desperately craving to separate themselves on this night. Reef seized the momentum and went coast-to-coast with a strong rebound turned behind the back scoop finish for 25-23. Texoma probably felt like there was one player on the court but it was suddenly one really big problem for them. Reef finished his personal 8-0 run with a corner trifecta for the lead at 26-25. The 8-0 spurt was exactly what Reef, who was exacerbated with two tough foul calls and a host of missed gimme opportunities that did not go his way, and the team as a whole needed to reboot far away from the comfort of home. The Eagles just needed to get into the locker room for halftime to regroup themselves but a damaging momentum ending to the first half delayed that from happening. Eber threw as good a pass as is humanly possible to Reef in the most convenient location for a lob and jam mere seconds from the cacophony of the first half buzzer. That 10-1 run may be something to look back on generations into the future, especially the way it was capped. Reef scored 21 points in that first half but the last 10 of them gave this team the confidence to snag back control of this all-important game.
The city of Sherman, ranging from infants to the elderly, were all astonished to learn that some other players besides one Ofek Reef had actually made the 54.2 mile journey. Zach Bernstein BN stormed the second half court with his defense and a great baby hook finish from Schwaber. The first 2:08 of the second half was actually a hook shot tutorial by the boys from Dallas as Schwaber showed off two consecutive hook finishes off more exquisite passing from The Jonah Eber. Suddenly, the Bulldogs were playing together, passing like they are at their best, and building a now 34-26 lead. Tyler C Winton arrived on the scene not a second too late with a pristine corner triple that soared through the air and into the basket. Reef dropped off a great pass to McBuckets on the very next possession for the 5th straight Winton point, and the damage had been done. In all, Yavneh went on a 19-1 run since trailing 25-18 to build a double-digit lead that they would never relinquish. The score held at 39-29 for what seemed like an hour with long, less than stellar possessions for both teams. The king of the AND-NONE, Eber ferociously attacked the goal for a rebound-putback that sent a message to this Eagles team that briefly had their eyes on first place. They had finally stemmed the tide prior to the Eber play but once again could not make it to the end of a period without the Earth turning on its axis. Reef, mostly quiet in the scoring column after his first half outbreak, scored the third period’s final 4 points in an absolute flash. A steal for a home run followed by what seemed like an instant replay only barely more contested in the open floor pushed the Bulldog lead to 45-31. As the final period began, there was very little doubt as to the outcome of this game. The Yavneh man-to-man defense had completely quarantined the Texoma offense with Chaddick only getting a single clean look in the entire second half. The Pelican completely stymied Texoma defensively but also had a highlight reel scoot to the hoop finger roll that only Bernstein can pull off European-style. Reef exposed Chaddick in that second half as well and completely bottled him up after a heroic start for Texoma’s leader. Senior Nachi Zucker transformed into NachXOMA made an extended fourth period appearance with a pair of tough rebounds and solid defense. Schwaber finished thrice down the stretch, the first of which was courtesy of a Reef pass over the world and at the basket. Eber assisted on another for a window bucket and Schwaber played Twister for the final slick score in traffic. The Eagles made one final push with five straight points to trim the deficit to 14 points but it was too little too late. Mo Zander-Feinstein’s hovering rebound and scamper down the court for a textbook jump stop finish included a thank-you wink to the sky. That was the finishing touch on this epic win, which was spear-headed by Ofek Reef’s 28 point/13 rebound DOUBLE-DOUBLE. Mason Schwaber ‘s 13 points and 9 rebounds provided the complement that served Dinner for Two in the painted area. Jonah Eber (game-high 6 assists), Zach Bernstein, and Tyler Winton combined for 15 of the remaining 17 points.
Yavneh (17-5) is now a full game clear of all teams in District 2 and indeed has won 22 regular season TAPPS games in a row. The flip side to that story is that on Thursday they are back at it on the road at the scene of their last district loss. Rockwall had been a house of horrors for the Bulldogs until they snapped that trend with a solid victory a year ago. Heritage Christian is a very dangerous team that enjoys likely the second best home court advantage in the country complete with their tilted rim and disco lighting. Can this team complete a week on the road Thursday by matching the second half defensive effort and be aggressive offensively from the start……
The Kennel Report, now in its 15th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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