Cambridge School of Dallas defeated Yavneh 61-57 Tuesday night. The loss drops the Bulldogs record to an even 3-3.
Yavneh coughed up a pair of large leads, including being out-scored by 9 points in the final period, to eventually wind up on the wrong side of a see-saw affair Tuesday. All the little inconsistencies that have plagued this developing team seemed to pop up at the most inopportune times on this night and truly the game just ended at a point where Cambridge had made just a couple more plays and committed a couple less mistakes than the home team. Both teams were careless with the basketball all night long and that was never more evident than the first segment of the game. When the Bulldogs were not turning it over early they were once again falling into serious foul trouble. Yavneh grabbed a 6-3 lead on a Steve Levine steal for points at the rim. Moments later, Senior Noah Weiss found David Steinbrecher streaking to the basket with the two reversing roles a possession later to double up Cambridge 12-6. Cambridge ended the first period with absolute ineptness from a ball security standpoint. A bevvy of giveaways allowed Yavneh to build the lead, culminating with a falling into the stands fade away triple out of the hands of Steinbrecher for a 15-6 advantage. Super Senior subs Zak Schultz and Ori Guttman each added a layup to secure a 19-9 edge after one period of play. For a welcome change, Sophomore Post Daniel Chernikov was not one of those in foul trouble in the first half. Levine fed him on a nice finish at the basket for a game-high 21-9 margin. This had all the indications of a Yavneh runaway victory to come but the offense completely shut down at that point and saw the Bulldogs score a grand total of 2 points in the final 7:24 of the second period. Turnovers and poor selection fed into Cambridge getting easy opportunities, many of which came at the free throw line. In all, an 11-0 Cambridge spurt cut the lead to a single point. Junior Jonathan Ochstein followed his own shot to finally end the drought with mere seconds remaining in the half but the Bulldogs trailed at halftime by a single bucket off the 16-2 explosion that left Yavneh searching for answers.
The Cambridge advantage would climb to 4 points before Sophomore Noah Rubinstein followed his own miss with a crafty scoop finish to trim the deficit to 2 points. Chernikov was the recipient of a nice pass from Steinbrecher to even the game at 27-27 not 2 minutes into the second half. The Bulldogs surged back into the lead just a short time thereafter on a Noah to Noah baseline jumper drained by Noah Weiss. The game had very little rhythm or flow and was in need of a player to take over. Levine generated some good energy with a couple steals and transition finishes but Cambridge was starting to assert themselves in taking care of the basketball. Newly energized Ori Guttman popped off the bench once again but this time he seemed like a man on a mission. He swooped to the basket and around the court at a speed that Cambridge was clearly uncomfortable guarding. They had immense problems adjusting to his free flowing game and could do little else but foul the Senior swing-man. As a result, Guttman cashed in both at the basket but more so at the free throw line for most of the second half. This was most of a 21-10 Bulldog outburst that seized control back to Yavneh’s corner at 44-37. The teams turned the final stanza into a virtual free throw contest with the teams ending up to combine for 45 attempted freebies over the course of the game. Guttman alone was 8/10 from the foul line. Cambridge would score the first 5 points of the fourth quarter to tie the score at 44-44 with 6:24 to play. The Senior connection of Guttman and Weiss responded with some nice pick-and-roll action to score the next 4 points to take command once again. First, Guttman used a Weiss screen to rumble to the basket and then Guttman fed Weiss on the roll for 48-44 with 4:20 to go. Every time the Bulldogs looked to pull away, however, Cambridge would respond with a much needed layup with the foul. Guttman at long last drilled his first three point field goal of the season with the help of most of the rim but Trent Gahm responded with a three-point play at the rim the other way. Guttman made two more free throws only to watch Johnson Thweatt camp out in the deep corner for three more points for Cambridge. Guttman one more time slashed to the basket to break a 53-53 tie game and of course Cambridge responded with a dagger wing triple for the lead at 56-55 and 2:06 remaining. Devastating turnovers on 2 of the next 3 possessions allowed Cambridge to build their new-found lead at the free throw line. Trailing 59-55 with 1:07 left, Levine set up Weiss for a great hook shot move in the paint to dice the lead to a single basket. Weiss, trying to make the most heroic of comebacks all by himself, stepped in on the ensuing defensive possession to take the biggest charge of the season and his career to date. Now left with 14.9 seconds, yet another crucial turnover at the worst possible time ultimately sealed the Bulldogs fate. There was no more time for the home team to re-group with a mere 4.4 seconds to play and with it a two-game losing streak became a reality. Ori Guttman finished with a career-high 19 points and 8/10 clutch free throw shooting. Daniel Chernikov also was perfect from the free throw line to pave the way to his 10 points on the night. Weiss and Steinbrecher combined for 15 points to aid the cause as well.
Yavneh (3-3) will get another crack at a TAPPS 2A powerhouse from last season, only this time they welcome perennial 2A Final Four finishing Waco Vanguard Prep on Thursday. Vanguard is new to TAPPS 3A this season and figures to be in the conversation for a state championship when all is said and done. In order to get back on the right track, the Bulldogs will need to solve a huge front line as well as a deep array of experienced guards eerily similar to what Yavneh has themselves featured in recent years. On the other hand, this could be exactly the type of momentum win that the Bulldogs are yearning for to take the next step in their maturation process for this season.
The Kennel Report, now in its eleventh season, has been written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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