Yavneh defeated Mc Kinney Christian 42-28 Thursday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 10-7 (1-0).
The lock down defense that has been Yavneh’s calling card throughout its history and specifically in TAPPS contention served notice that it is indeed back for another run this season. In an ending to the 2014 calendar year and the beginning of 2014-15 district contention, the Bulldogs allowed just 10 made field goals and forced 21 deadly turnovers in controlling their return to Texas wire to wire Thursday. Junior Steve Levine found Senior Noah Weiss in transition just seconds into the contest for a quick lead but it was Sophomore Noah Rubinstein who owned the first quarter for the home team. A sharp drive to the rack for a three-point play (with an actual made free throw) and then a quick steal that led to a Levine finish made the score 7-0 not two minutes into the game. The Noah to Noah connection struck for a crafty Weiss carousel finish up and under the rim for 11-4 and then Rubinstein put an exclamation mark on the opening stanza with a corner triple just as time expired. The 14-6 Yavneh advantage was predicated on forcing 6 turnovers but Rubinstein’s 6 points/2 assists put Mc Kinney Christian in a bad spot just 48 hours after taking a 50 point hammering in their opening district game. The Bulldogs looked much more comfortable and much more confident back at home after a week in which they struggled to do all the little things. Ori Guttman executed a great give-and-go to Levine for another three point play at the rim, producing a 2/2 free throw start to the game. Levine characteristically swiped another pass for an easy finish and a 19-6 edge with 6 minutes to play in the first half, giving Yavneh 11 points off the first 9 Mc Kinney turnovers. The Mustangs looked spent and ready to break amidst the sea of giveaways. A virtual game-ending 6-0 spurt for the Bulldogs at the latter stages of the first half came courtesy of the great team passing that has been prevalent all season long. David Steinbrecher fed Weiss, Jonathan Ochstein delivered a strike to Rubinstein for an eyes-closed duck in layup, and Guttman capped the run with a find of classmate Weiss on the jog. 25-10 was the halftime lead for Yavneh behind 14 forced turnovers and a positive 25% shooting differential. Mc Kinney was having major issues in the shooting department and never could benefit from 11 first half offensive rebounds. The extra chances spelled only more misses for the Mustangs, who were well on their way to a second district loss. If your name was Noah you had all but 9 first half points for the Bulldogs, whose defense locked down all night long.
Both second half periods were an exercise in offensive futility for Yavneh, especially the front halves. In fact, the third period began with neither team scoring a single point until Weiss’s steal produced a Guttman layup 3:22 into the second half. That sequence produced the game’s first 17 point lead as the Bulldogs were on their way. Rubinstein made a nice inbounds pass to Daniel Chernikov, who had a productive second half, for a 29-10 lead moments later. The Mustangs finally scored with 2:13 left in the period but that long awaited bucket was quickly equalized by a Guttman to Chernikov fast break for a game-high 23 point advantage. Despite a buzzer-beating Mc Kinney finish by a third cousin of Robert Tractor Traylor, the Bulldogs still led by 19 points. The final period also saw no points for the home team for nearly 4 more minutes at the start and the Mustangs were starting to convert some of the plethora of offensive rebounds they were allotted. Chernikov once again broke the dry spell and re-established a still commanding 36-20 margin with 4:03 remaining. Yavneh made some major headway on the offensive glass over the next 2 minutes by themselves rebounding missed layup after missed layup. It took Weiss to throw up a falling down rainbow from his knees to break the string of rim-side brickeration. The Bulldogs needed some drama-mine but they did coast to the finish behind that stingy defense, who did not allow 30 points on this night and held Mc Kinney sharpshooter Blake Gomaa to 0 points on just 2 shots. Noah Weiss led all scorers with 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 commanding blocked shots. Daniel Chernikov added 9 points and 7 rebounds to give the team a solid inside presence. Steve Levine’s 9 and Noah Rubinstein’s 8 points combined with an Ori Guttman 4 point/4 rebound/4 assist night rounded out the scoring.
Yavneh (10-7) is off and running in defense of their district title. The inconsistency of the non-conference portion of their schedule can clearly be attributed to lack of focus in executing free throws, having high turnover games against suspect defenses, and most importantly the lack of consistent outside shooting. They have, however, shown enough moments of defensive and transition brilliance to suspect that the Bulldogs will be a major factor in the scope of TAPPS 3A before this season is over. How this developing group of players utilize their time off and come back for a super busy January will likely determine the fate of 2014-15.
ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!
The Kennel Report, now in its eleventh season, has been written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
TL-BW-SP-BR