Yavneh defeated Community Hebrew Academy Of Toronto (CHAT) 51-27 in the SEMIFINALS of the The Joseph and Florence Weiner Memorial Tournament in Baltimore, Maryland Thursday. The Bulldogs season record now stands at 12-2.
YAVNEH IS BACK IN THE FINALS IN BALTIMORE. Yavneh showed no hesitancy, no jitters, and efficiently dissected CHAT for a second time in this tournament for a 6th straight win in Baltimore and 7th straight overall. A 7-0 beginning set the tone as Steve Levine found an energetic Griffin Levine on an inbounds pass and Junior Daniel Chernikov took over from there. Chernikov was awesome in the first period with a flip shot, an inside bucket, and then another jumper. The Bulldogs had the pace in their favor which is the story of how easy games in this tournament will be. Steve Levine’s first steal, the likes of which are quickly becoming a Baltimore legend, led to a Griffin basket for a 13-3 start and CHAT looked cooked. After some minor strides in the right direction to trim the Yavneh lead to 6 points, CHAT saw a dizzying end to the first period of play. Noah Rubinstein, who had been getting newly re-acquainted with his long distance game of late, drilled triples in both corners like a gopher traveling under the floor panels only to pop up for air and three pointers. The 6 quick points extended the lead to 19-7 and really sent a message that there would be no dramatic upset potential on this afternoon. Once again the Bulldogs were forcing mass turnovers with 8 CHAT giveaways in the first period of play. Yavneh was not able to finish easy layups which kept the score relatively close at 21-10 approaching halftime but Steve Levine continued to work magic on out of bounds under situations when he found Rubinstein for the first of several AND NONE finishes. Griffin Levine buried a late shot clock and also late half three ball for a decisive 29-12 edge for halftime. His celebration indicated the game was over and despite an entire half to play CHAT seemed to agree with the Sophomore point guard. The 8-2 Bulldog finish to the half seemed like the straw that broke the camel’s back for this Semifinal.
The third period brought more good Yavneh execution with Rubinstein and then Steve Levine both finishing with contact for strong AND NONE finishes. Levine’s was breathtaking as he attacked the right side while reaching back miraculously with his left hand to show it is indeed possible to finish a circus-like layup on the right side with your left hand at practically any angle. Levine attacked the basket’s left side on the next possession for a 35-16 lead and then Rubinstein fed Chernikov under the basket for a great reverse finish. DC21 completed his stylistic and necessary big game with a quick roll to the basket and the game had officially gotten out of hand when a pair of fourth quarter steals ended up as two more Steve Levine layup drills for a 45-23 score en route to a 24-point margin by game’s end. Juniors Daniel Chernikov and Noah Rubinstein led all scorers with 12 points apiece and missed just 4 shots from the field between them. As far as Levines were concerned, Steve added 11 points while Griffin controlled most of the game with 8 points, 7 assists, and 5 steals. Also of note, Jonathan Ochstein continued to be this tournament’s defensive stopper with another shut down performance to help hold a team under 30 points.
Yavneh (12-2) is back into the Finals where they will look to avenge the overtime defeat from 2013. Another East Coast half-court team stands in the way of a much needed accomplishment for the Bulldogs as HANC will be shooting to even the score from 48 hours earlier. If this game is anything like Thursday’s meeting, neither team will need a scorekeeper and there could be drama of the highest degree to determine this year’s Weiner Tournament winner. Will Yavneh be able to get the pace of the game where they want it or will they be forced to win once again on HANC’s terms with a game possibly in the teens? Will Saturday Night FINALLY be the night where the Bulldogs bring home the hardware in a national tournament?
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!
The Kennel Report, now in its twelfth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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