Yavneh defeated Cristo Rey Dallas College Preparatory School 85-6 Thursday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to an immaculate 18-0 (1-0).
Yavneh made quick work of Cristo Rey Thursday to leave no doubt in the very first TAPPS 3A District 3 contest of 2018. A 16-0 blitz in the first 162 seconds of the contest left the Fire in dire straits 16 points down on the scoreboard and with an unfathomable 10 turnovers in less than 3 minutes of play. Griffin Levine Sr completely reversed his first quarter struggles with an early wing triple off a great pass from Ofek Reef, a laser assist to Reef for a floater, another pair of helpers to Pierce Bell and Jonah Eber, and a break-away layup. Levine was the catalyst in a 7/10 field goal start , including 12 forced turnovers en route to a 20-0 beginning. Cristo Rey had trouble getting shot attempts and protecting the glass against a Bulldogs team that was just simply at a whole other level. An Eber steal and full court dish to Levine made it a cool 25 unanswered points to start the game in exactly 5 minutes. The issues for Cristo Rey were much more than a semi-functional scoreboard and a gym with sub-zero temperatures on this night. As Yavneh brought waves of substitutes into the game, the Fire could not deal with any of them. Junior Zach Bernstein pushed the lead to 29-0 on a steal/assist to a streaking Tyler C Winton. For the second straight game Winton, who now has the highest winning % of any player in Yavneh history with a minimum of 20 games played (95.5%), recorded a highlight reel blocked shot on an opposing guard. As it was, the Bulldogs used a 31-3 first period courtesy of a 30-5 shot attempt advantage and 17 forced turnovers to put Cristo Rey in their rear view mirror. In a game of ridiculous, the first quarter stat of the year may very well be Yavneh’s ability to out-rebound a team that only attempted 5 shots with primarily offensive rebounds…13 of them in the initial 8 minutes of action. It only took 8 seconds for Sophomore Mason Schwaber to declare his return from a month-long vacation. Winton found him at the rim but that was just the start of a career night for the soon-to-be 6”11 budding post. A block/rebound fired up his fan section and probably put an end to any Cristo Rey comeback hopes that were still flickering amidst the cold night breeze. Bernstein and Winton were very active in the second period and continued to produce offense with steals, assists, and layups. The Schwaber post-to-post connection with Senior catalyst Seth Gerstenfeld surged the Bulldogs to a 42-3 advantage. Eli Minsky added a sweet reverse hook shot to hold off any threat from the home team and grab a 58-3 halftime edge. The numbers were those out of a video game: 51-8% shooting, 43-12 in shot attempts, 16-0 in free throw attempts, 26-4 rebounding, and of course 24-4 in forced turnovers. The Bulldogs looked like a team that was 17-0 and in top form versus a team playing their second official game of the season.
Pierce Bell was an absolute monster in this game, specifically in the opening minutes of the second half. Bell scored on 5 occasions early in the period and any shots he missed turned into easy offensive rebounds that led to better shots for the Senior slasher. Although the Fire had nary an answer for any of the Bulldogs, Bell is the one player that absolutely battered them inside all night long. Micah Romaner was an assist machine in the third period, finding cutter after cutter in the lane. Many of those passes found Eli Minsky, who connected on all but one of his shots and played his best game in at least a month. The fourth period was a showcase for the Yavneh posts. When it wasn’t Romaner dazzling the near capacity crowd with passing skills that most big men could only dream of, Schwaber and Gerstenfeld were combining for 20 points, nearly all at the basket. Gerstenfeld was dominant in the post, scoring on two Winton passes and finishing another layup with contact. Schwaber also continued to shine on the interior in what was a complete game for the Bulldogs. Pierce Bell led all scorers with 22 points and 6 offensive rebounds. Mason Schwaber notched a career-high 14 points while Griffin Levine exploded for 11 points, 6 assists, and 5 steals in just 7 minutes. A trio of players scored 8 points each and combined to shoot 9/13 field goals. Eli Minsky was active in this game while doing much more than just scoring 8 points, Zach Bernstein dished 5 assists and drilled all 4 of his free throws for 8 points, and Tyler Winton recorded 6 steals and assists to complement his 4/5 field goal and 2/2 free throw shooting. Seth Gerstenfeld also scored a career-high 6 points while Jonah Eber was magnificent on the glass with 8 huge rebounds.
Yavneh (18-0) is off and running in district play but understands that the competition ramps up in a hurry. Much like last year, a huge showdown at arch-rival Covenant is the first major test. Covenant could not solve the Bulldogs in three attempts last year including an epic showdown at the Semifinals of the State tournament. Both teams are very confident and have aspirations of winning this district but who will have the upper hand after Round 1? Can Yavneh win their 19th game in as many tries this year but this time a road contest on Saturday night that figures to shape the landscape of District 3? Will Covenant just be another double-digit victim of a team that seems to strengthen with every passing game?
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!
The Kennel Report, now in its 14th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M TL-BW-SP-BR