Yavneh defeated HSAA South 85-66 Monday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 2-1.
Yavneh may have to re-paint the free throw line after prevailing in a game where two teams combined for a blistering 48 free throw attempts. The Bulldogs connected on 20 of their 23 free rolls from the charity stripe, 11 players scored, and once again passed their way to an easy home victory Monday. Unlike their previous game in which they led wire to wire in dismantling Burton, on this night Yavneh trailed 2-0 before Senior Zak Schultz tripled his way to a lead the Bulldogs would never relinquish. Shot out of a canon early on, Senior Ori Guttman swiped a basketball and took it the length of the court for a 5-2 edge, and then found Sophomore post Daniel Chernikov at the basket for an early 5 point lead. Guttman recorded his second steal moments later and this time finished with contact. With the bigs in foul trouble much of this game, it was the guards time to shine. Junior David Steinbrecher started his electric night with a tricky find of Steve Levine from three point range and the Bulldogs had HSAA doubled up at 18-9 moments later courtesy of a big to big connection. Chernikov was set up by front-court mate Noah Weiss, who moments later would embarrass the HSAA full court pressure. Weiss may have been the biggest player on the court but HSAA entirely dis-regarded him as Steinbrecher threw a laser right on time from half-court to the rim. With that, the 22-13 first period came to a close behind 6 points from Guttman. The second period saw Yavneh open up the game behind their great passing attack once again. Schultz assisted Weiss right at the basket for the game’s first double-digit margin at 24-14. On the very next possession, Sophomore Noah Rubinstein made an acrobatic flat-footed deflection of an HSAA pass which only seconds later became a Guttman to Steinbrecher transition layup for 26-14. For as great as the passing has been through 3 games, the Rubinstein touch pass back to Weiss on a slick give-and-go may have been the best of them all to this point. The Bulldogs were having their way but the last half of the second quarter was marred by foul problems for both teams. With each team into the foul bonus for 4 minutes plus, halftime festivities would have to wait through a free throw contest. The great news for the Bulldogs was that while they were connecting on a remarkable 14/15 of their attempts, HSAA was busy misfiring on theirs. That differential combined with a late 9-4 Yavneh run catapulted the Bulldogs into total control by the halftime break. Senior Grant Prengler erupted for 5 points, including a pure three ball, and Junior Jonathan Ochstein made a great roll to the basket late to establish the 43-26 advantage. With the free throw edge as well as wins in rebounding, turnovers, and assists, HSAA simply could not stay in the game.
If the memories of HSAA sibling second half issues were in play at all, the Bulldogs quickly kicked that theory to the curb in the opening minutes of the third period. Guttman found Weiss for a power move in the paint for a man’s bucket and a 45-28 lead. Shortly thereafter, Guttman notched another assist to Schultz for a no-look reverse layup. Another 12-4 Bulldog spurt completely washed away any chances of an HSAA rally, highlighted by a pair of Weiss helpers to Guttman and then Steinbrecher. Steve Levine’s coast-to-coast and-1 tacked on the final trio of points to a 57-32 game-high lead. HSAA, who scored 100+ points in their previous game, would respond in a big way over the game’s final 11 minutes. More than doubling their output from the first 21 minutes, the visitors tallied 34 points in the final 11 minutes of play. A 6-0 run trimmed the Yavneh advantage to 57-38 and it looked as if just maybe this would get a little bit interesting. Rubinstein responded with a great look to Chernikov, on the court for a rare moment in a foul-ridden game, to trigger a 6-0 response overall on just a pair of possessions. The other 4 points came from a Steinbrecher four point play for the ages. The Junior guard turned a pump fake into a one-dribble misdirection launch from deep with contact. After completing a rare four point play, the likes of which would not be seen again until moments later when HSAA guard Colton Shorman would do it on the other side of the court, Steinbrecher completed the third quarter scoring with a point-blank layup with a considerably lower degree of difficulty. Ochstein nearly buried a period-ending prayer to notch 70 points through three quarters but his shot barely fell off at the buzzer. The final stanza was quite reminiscent of an NBA blowout with virtually no defense as the teams combined for 43 points. Besides the HSAA matching four-point play, nearly everyone was a prime time offensive performer. Chernikov and Ochstein exchanged great passes for easy baskets as the Bulldogs did more than enough on their own to secure an easy coast to the finish. Freshman Zach Epstein had two milestone assists down the stretch. First, he assisted Junior Will Naxon on his first career basket, and moments later hooked up with Noah Weiss for the team’s first 80 point mark of the young season. In between, Naxon knifed to the hoop for his second career basket, which will be remembered just as much for the strong move as his Statue of Liberty pose that followed the hoop. Noah Weiss and Steve Levine led the way with 14 points apiece, while David Steinbrecher and Ori Guttman also finished in double figures. Weiss added 8 rebounds and Guttman collected 4 assists, steals, and rebounds. Steve Levine and Meir Epstein each collected five rebounds of their own to pace the home team. Every Bulldog player either scored or assisted, 10 players of which did both in the game.
Yavneh (2-1) can expect a much different atmosphere outside the friendly confines on their own gym for the first time Tuesday. A trip to Shelton will serve as the first road test of the year, and could be a tricky middle game in the season’s first of many 3 games in 4 days weeks.
The Kennel Report, now in its eleventh season, has been written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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