Yavneh defeated Arlington Burton Adventist Academy 76-42 Tuesday night. The win kick-starts the Bulldogs record at 1-0.
October 31st seems to be a night that a good many people welcome guests and shower them with a variety of gifts. Burton Adventist must have gotten this memo loud and clear in hosting Yavneh to open the 2017-18 season Tuesday. They were only too happy to gift wrap 37 turnovers to a Bulldog team that scored the game’s first 15 points in just over two minutes of play. Junior transfer Ofek Reef waited less than 30 seconds of his rookie game to make an impact with a pair of offensive rebounds en route to a three-point play with contact that began the scoring. The first of 32 steals on opening night went seconds later to Griffin Levine Sr to produce an immediate 5-0 advantage courtesy of two free throws. Reef and Senior co-captain Micah Romaner followed with another pair of steals that led to baskets for a 9-0 start. In fact, a total of 6 consecutive steals for baskets yielded a 15-0 edge for Yavneh over the first 2:08 of play. Burton was completely baffled and failed to produce a shot attempt during these festivities. Sophomore Tyler Winton, making his first career start, pilfered the last of those stray basketballs for an uncontested glide to the basket. As if this all-out blitz was not enough, Senior Pierce Bell took a charge on what could have been the first basket for the home team shortly thereafter. In all, the 28-6 opening period of the season was at the very least eye opening to the casual observer. 7 field goal attempts allowed, 14 steals, and 12 points apiece from Levine and Reef all added up to a game that was over well before the first quarter buzzer sounded. Yavneh hit the 17 steal mark at 33-13 just minutes into the second period. Burton seemed demoralized and without answers to set up their half court offense. They spent the entire night struggling just to attempt half as many shots as the Bulldogs were making. On the defensive end Levine ran circles around the Eagle defenders and whatever he could not finish Reef was there to clean up. The first half ended with the west rim doing what the Burton defense could not: reject, stop, and slow down Ofek Reef. Despite being met at the summit by that rim, Reef combined with Levine for 37 of the 46 points to lead by 31 at halftime.
Yavneh continued to turn Burton over in the second half but yielded an 8-0 run in which they had a lapse, particularly on the defensive end. The first of three second-half triples from Winton stemmed the tide along with a Romaner traveling rumble to the basket that earned a pair of free throws. The lead grew back to 57-32 to end the third quarter despite actually losing the 8-minute segment to the Eagles. The lazy and complacent third period was disheartening on a night that the Bulldogs seemingly were able to do whatever they wanted. The final stanza, however, was a return to team basketball and really boasted the depth that this team could have. Sophomore Mason Schwaber scored the first two baskets of his career from mid-range and Junior Zach Bernstein connected on a trio of finishes at the basket, including an AND-NONE off a great feed from classmate Eli Minsky. Minksy was very active down the stretch with several deflections and an ability to preserve many of the 11 second-chance opportunities Yavneh was afforded. Senior Sam Schultz was also very active with 4 steals. Like so many times a year ago, the Bulldogs impressively took the crowd and the life out of Burton’s chance to be competitive in this basketball game. Those first two minutes were a point of no return and the depth/talent of the Red-and-Black were simply not going to let the home team back into the game. Ofek Reef led all scorers while recording a double-double in his first Yavneh game with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Griffin Levine barely broke a sweat in adding 19 points, 6 steals, and 5 assists, doing a great job balancing the s(c)enario of production on the court with his first game as a Senior captain. Tyler Winton also recorded double-digits with 11 points and did great in the defensive and passing game to provide balance right from the beginning.
Yavneh (1-0) is off and running in 2017-18 but is only beginning the journey. In Levine, Reef, and Bell there is more than enough offense but the true success of this team will be determined on the defensive end of the court. The scariest thing about Tuesday is that the Bulldogs were this dominant with very little contribution from two returning players in Pierce Bell and Jonah Eber. The emergence and growth of several complementary players will be key factors in just how good this team can be and what heights they can soar to. Will this team be able to keep the pace up and turn Coram Deo over on Thursday? Will three double-digit scorers become four or five? Can the defense continue to be a catalyst in demoralizing opponents? Will this team be multi-dimensional and build on the success of a year ago?
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!!!
The Kennel Report, now beginning its 14th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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