Yavneh defeated Irving The Highlands 84-69 Tuesday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to an uncorrupted 22-0 (5-0).
For 16 minutes Tuesday the two undefeated teams in District 3 went toe to toe, point for point, rebound for rebound, and turnover to turnover in an epic battle that would indeed need a second half to determine a winner. In the end, however, 73 points from the dynamic trio of Pierce Bell, Ofek Reef, and Griffin Levine Sr were too much to handle. The game had an inauspicious beginning with Reef collecting his first personal foul not 2 seconds into the contest. While many wondered why Highlands would dare press the unpressable Bulldog team, both squads used high pressure from the very beginning to make for the most frenetic of starts to a basketball game. Micah Romaner found Bell through an alley for the game’s first basket but the opening minutes were nothing short of an end-to-end pickup game. Bell and Highlands post sensation Johnny Gagliano each had a pair of buckets to begin the action , which was fast, faster, and furious. The pace was electric as Levine’s dipsy-doo finish knotted the score at 7-7 and Reef drove to the rack but the Blazers held a 14-9 advantage. Under normal circumstances a fast-paced game usually has the Bulldogs making more plays than the other team to lead regardless of the pace but this first period was different. No matter what Yavneh did, Highlands had an answer early on. A Bell follow and Levine buzzer-beating jumper ended the opening stanza on a high but the visitors still led 19-16. With only one forced turnover the Bulldogs had not ran their opponent out of the gym in the normal instant and found themselves three periods away from their first loss of the season. Bell, who truly was just getting started on this historic night, started the second period with an athletic steal. A Reef put-back followed by a Levine triple would even the score at 21-21 in short order. Bell finished at the cup in transition to re-claim the lead at 23-21, the first Bulldog advantage since 2-0. All part of a pivotal 11-2 spurt for Yavneh, Bell added a mid-range jumper, Reef grabbed a rebound and drove the lane, and then Levine dumped off a magnificent pass to Bell. When Sam Schultz found Reef rolling to the basket for a 32-23 advantage it looked for all the world that Highlands was finished. All logic certainly said they were as somehow standout guard Donovan Lester accrued 4 fouls in less than 12 minutes of first half action. But major defensive lapses at the worst possible time allowed Highlands a 10-0 run before halftime. Suddenly Yavneh could not grab a defensive rebound. Gagliano made the Bulldogs pay for every mistake with easy finishes on the interior, and if not for a Reef free throw with less than a half-second remaining, Highlands would have led at the break. As it was, 34-34 was the halftime deadlock with both teams searching for answers. The game was close because shooting was nearly identical. Neither team could force the turnovers that they were trying so hard to create. Yavneh held a free throw attempt edge while Highlands was winning the long-distance battle. The Bulldogs were in un-charted territory having played only 4 single-digit differential games all season long and only one that has come down to a possession or two in the final quarter. On the flip side, Highlands was in dire straits with 3 of their regulars in severe foul trouble in an already shallow rotation.
The first part of the third period were as tense a stretch as the Bulldogs have played all season long. A truly see-saw affair commenced with the teams trading baskets on every trip. Jonah Eber assisted a slicing Reef to the basket for one answer while Romaner used a crafty step-through move to even the game at 38-38 moments later. A free throw would give the Blazers a 39-38 edge but that was the end of the line for a pesky group from Irving who knew they were leading on borrowed time. In a sequence that may have been his best all season long, Eber pranced down the lane for a 40-39 finish and followed that up with a prime-time box out to get the ball back. Then came the back-breaking trifecta from Levine that went in, out, around, and back into the basket for a 43-39 lead. Reef would pile on with baskets and a free throw from Eber and Levine assists. The third period concluded with a Bell high-flying follow and another finish for the Senior sensation off a Levine helper. 60-53 was the Bulldog lead through three periods of play but Highlands was on the brink due to the foul issues now eliminating key players and even worse the situation on the scoreboard. The Blazers could not sustain any more damage and what they got was a finishing run from a Yavneh team that was ready for the kill shot. The first double-digit lead of the night came courtesy of a corner triple from none other than Pierce Bell. If that was the end for The Highlands, it was only fitting that Bell delivered the goodbye wave on a night that truly belonged to him. Levine finished in transition, Bell once again at the rim, and suddenly a Reef baseline drive opened up the margin to 70-53 with 6:03 to go. The 34-17 run for the Red-and-Black wore the Blazers down and then fouled them out. Sam Schultz had 2 steals and several assists during the final finishing run while Eli Minsky used a two-handed tip in to extend to a 79-62 lead down the stretch. If you had Seth Gerstenfeld scoring the 80th point on a free throw late in the fourth period, then both you and the Bulldogs notched tremendous victories on this night. Pierce Bell appropriately led all scorers with a career-high 29 points to go along with 8 rebounds. He was sensational in the basketball game and really willed the Bulldogs through a tough first half to pave the way for the big win. Ofek Reef scored 20 points too many to secure a corporate sponsorship but did secure yet another double-double with 27 points/11 rebounds on the night. Griffin Levine added 17 points and dished out 9 assists, making it impossible for Highlands to get anything from their pressure. The combo of Jonah Eber, Micah Romaner, and Sam Schultz produced 14 assists and 11 rebounds as well.
Yavneh (22-0) is now in complete control of District 3 with only one team left to play the first time through the schedule. That team and its home gym, however, have been a Nightmare Not on Elm Street the last two years. Having been outscored by 29 points in two games there, including an overtime contest in 2016 and a 25-point bludgeoning in one of only 2 losses in all of calendar 2017, the Bulldogs have had this game circled in bright red ink. Can they turn the virtual house of horrors into win #23?
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!
The Kennel Report, now in its 14th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M TL-BW-SP-BR