Yavneh defeated Thomas Jefferson High School 72-51 Monday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to a spotless 6-0.
Being down 2 starters and on the road in a hostile environment Monday did not seem to faze Yavneh, who led wire to wire for a sixth straight victory this season. The scoring tandem of Griffin Levine Sr and Ofek Reef combined for 48 more points as both continue to average 20+ PPG. The game’s second possession saw the Bulldogs threatened to trail for the first time all year as they played defense with a 1-0 advantage. Free safety Tyler Winton, however, launched himself halfway to the rafters and snatched away an incoming basketball from TJ’s Kyle Murphy for a left-handed finish. That 3-0 start would balloon into 7-0 that quickly with two more baskets off turnovers including Reef’s steal for a layup. Reef was everywhere in the opening stanza with 10 points on three steals, a put-back, and transition excellence. A common theme among Yavneh opponents, giveaways were leading to all the early offense. Jonah Eber followed his own shot for a 12-1 lead and the 11th turnover of the first period for TJ was a Levine steal turned to an AND ONE finish at the rim. A late 5-1 spurt by the home team helped keep the Bulldogs within the same stratosphere, leading 18-6 after 8 minutes of play. The Yavneh second quarter lull did not seem to hurt them on this night as Jefferson just simply could not score the basketball for most of this game. An already thin bench was taxed even more with a breakout of unnecessary fouls in the first half. Three Bulldog players had to exit the game with 2 fouls apiece. Part of the reason the score was as close as it was could have had something to do with a horrendous start from Levine. A nice touch pass from Mason Schwaber to Levine padded the lead at 31-15 and seemed to awaken the captain and lifeblood of this squad. Eber dished assists on two consecutive trips to Levine, who had clearly found his groove. It was Zach Bernstein’s feed, however, that set off mass hysteria in the crowd and flash photography seemingly worldwide. Levine’s no-look, 360-degree finish was the ultimate highlight in a string of 6 consecutive baskets by the Senior guard. A heat-check triple capped the run and surged the Bulldogs to a 43-23 halftime edge. Reef dominated the first part of the half with 21 points while Levine cleaned up the latter stages to net 16 points at the break. 21 forced turnovers and a 15-4 free throw attempt disparity was more than enough to allow the Bulldogs to separate. Of those freebies, 12 attempts and 10 makes belonged to Ofek Reef himself.
The home team struck for 6 straight points to begin the second half, trimming the deficit to just 14 points not two minutes into that third quarter. Reef was able to reclaim the momentum and more with a stick-back plus contact and the free throw. Sam Schultz followed that up with his fist trifecta of the year to go along with a mid-post basket off a nice baseline attack and dish by Winton. Levine and Winton both recorded steals for scores as the margin grew over 20 points. A pair of free throws with 16 seconds remaining in the third period gave Griffin Levine 1000 career points and his team a 61-38 lead. The final quarter was played with the outcome all but decided once again. Schwaber scored on two baskets in a row, and Seth Gerstenfeld’s shot-assist to Eli Minsky highlighted a choppy final period. Ofek Reef led all scorers with 26 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 steals which included 11/13 free throws in a strong performance. Griffin Levine’s 22 points leaves him with exactly 1K career points as this train kept on rolling.
Yavneh (6-0) will turn around to host another DISD 5A public school team in Dallas Sunset Tuesday. The rivalry once back and forth has been somewhat one-sided in recent years with the Bulldogs winning 8 of the last 9 meetings. This game will be an interesting contrast of a short-handed Yavneh group that will look to provide another early knockout punch versus a Sunset team that has the unenviable task of containing Levine, Reef, And Friends but has an incredibly deep roster.
The Kennel Report, now in its 14th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M TL-BW-SP-BR