Yavneh defeated Community Hebrew Academy Of Toronto (CHAT) 75-41 and Mae Boyar High School of Jerusalem Israel 51-32 in the first two of five preliminary games at the The Joseph and Florence Weiner Memorial Tournament in Baltimore, Maryland Wednesday. The Bulldogs season record now stands at 8-2.
Yavneh went global Wednesday achieving their first ever 2-0 start at the Weiner Tournament in Baltimore, dissecting Canada and then riding some mild turbulence to outlast a hungry Israeli squad. The start is as good as the Bulldogs could have hoped for but clearly the yeoman’s work in this tournament has yet to come. CHAT, a team that jumped out 8-0 in last year’s opening round game, repeated the feat in 2015 with a 4-0 start that had all the makings of a here we go again afternoon. Senior captain Jonathan Ochstein floated a full court TD pass to co tri-Captain Steve Levine for a RIGHTY layup for Yavneh’s first tournament points. Levine’s wing jumper moments later would net the team’s first lead of the tournament capping a 5-0 run with nearly 5 minutes gone by in the first period. The game really opened up when the Bulldogs found their comfort zone forcing turnovers by way of the steal, this team’s calling card through 8 games this season. On this late afternoon it was Junior Noah Rubinstein with a trio of steals in a flash leading to 4 Steve Levine points for a 12-8 margin in favor of Yavneh. Classmate Zach Epstein joined Rubinstein in a combined steal at half-court a short time later, the end result of which was Epstein to the basket for a three point play and a 16-9 advantage. The Bulldogs early tournament jitters were a non-factor with 3-time tournament veteran Steve Levine taking over the game by leaps and bounds. Ochstein found him on the run yet again , Levine got his own steal for a layup, and then banked in a jumper to complete a 12-3 run that put the game into Bulldog control at 29-18. Meanwhile, Rubinstein was a steals machine with 8 in total and a key theft that led to a Griffin Levine no look pass for a Steve finish at the rim. When Rubinstein finished a sweeping lefty three point play, the margin had ballooned to 35-18 which seemed almost insurmountable. CHAT was turning the ball over faster the referees could whistle pointless foul calls on both teams to the tune of 21 first half giveaways. The Bulldogs were simply too much for a careless CHAT group but they still trailed 24-7 n the boards and managed to miss 9 free throws in a 14 minute half of basketball. The lead reached 20 at the onset of the second half when the Levines hooked up once again but that margin could have been 30+ as Yavneh players continued to misfire on charity shots off wires, structures, and even invisible ink as they soared into double-digit missed free throws. Nevertheless, the game got out of hand as CHAT could not protect the basketball and failed to actually score on many of their 16 offensive rebounds. Sophomore Micah Romaner highlighted the third period with two great finishes in which he was in the right place at the right time contrary to his airport arrival route just a day earlier. Romaner also had a nifty backdoor pass to Senior Sammy Weyser for the 60th Yavneh point en route to an easy cruise control victory in Game #1. Steve Levine notched 19 points on 8/9 shooting with 4 assists and 4 steals to lead all scorers and really set the tone. Griffin Levine’s 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists made the starting back-court impossible for CHAT to contain. Noah Rubinstein added 11 points to go along with 8 steals that really changed the course of the night for our neighbors to the North. Zach Epstein also contributed 6 steals as Yavneh forced 38 turnovers, more than 1.3 per minute of the game.
Game #2 has always been tricky for Yavneh on opening day and 2015 was no exception. A pesky Boyar HS team from Jerusalem showed no jet-lag in scoring the first bucket once again but a 14-1 response by the Bulldogs looked promising. Steve Levine’s steal found Griffin Levine for the equalizer and Noah Rubinstein’s spin move gave the Bulldogs their first lead. 3 consecutive Steve Levine steals pushed the margin and sent Boyar into a frenzy. Junior Daniel Chernikov woke up with a great post finish and then was the recipient of a sweet post to post connection with Micah Romaner to complete the 14-1 outburst. Griffin Levine left a creative pass for Romaner to cap the opening stanza and life was good. However, foul trouble from one of the Brothers compromised the rotation and in turn Boyar found their groove in the second period. An 8-2 stretch put them right back into the game, highlighted by one multi-offensive rebound possession. The lead would get as low as just 4 points but Steve Levine responded with a big jumper off the glass. Griffin Levine made one last great pass to Chernikov that led to first half ending free throws and a 26-18 lead for the Bulldogs. In a game that Yavneh clearly did not have it and had to grind out against a physical and pesky team, there could not have been a better time for the best minutes of the young season for one Daniel Chernikov. Rubinstein’s delayed offensive rebound dish to DC21 built back a 20 point advantage but it was his presence all night long that the Bulldogs had not had with any consistency to this point that made the mountain too steep for Boyar to 5-step their way over. Steve Levine finished inside to increase the lead to 12 points and then found Rubinstein for his one lefty three point play per game and a 35-20 lead. Griffin Levine’s pull up triple ended the third period at 40-24, putting Yavneh in firm control for the last quarter. The lead would get as low as 12 points on two occasions but Sophomore Pierce Bell finished an acrobatic three point play and then Steve Levine buried a three ball to end the threat once and for all. Steve Levine once again led all scorers, this time with 13 points to go along with 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals. Daniel Chernikov produced 12 points and 5 rebounds in his first career basketball game in the state of Maryland (he did run several 30 yard dashes in the state a year ago). This game was not a work of art but nevertheless a tournament win that puts the Bulldogs in prime position to make a run at the tournament title.
Yavneh (8-2) now gets a crack at the United States bracket and two Yeshiva League teams from the NY/NJ area await them on Thursday. HANC will be up first and the Bulldogs will have a chance to even the all-time series at 2-2 but it should be noted that HANC has never defeated Yavneh outside the city of Houston, Texas. Kushner will be the night cap Game #4 and both teams will look to take command in the all-time series tied at 1-1, the most recent of which was a Memphis matchup that was a very entertaining game amidst the wrath of the approaching Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Thursday will bring a host of history-making moments in many ways but ultimately will set the groundwork for the semifinal matchups of this tournament.
The Kennel Report, now in its twelfth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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