Yavneh defeated Irving The Highlands 59-42 Thursday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 15-8 (6-1).
Sophomore Daniel Chernikov notched career highs in both points and rebounds as Yavneh overcame less than stellar field goal shooting, rebounding, and field goal shooting Thursday. Another important district road victory will be the only statistic that history will remember from this night versus any of the 21 missed shots in the paint or the 16 turnovers. Chernikov’s big night started right from the outset with second chance points on the first pair of Bulldog offensive possessions, the latter of which a difficulty finish from just outside the lane. Steve Levine’s wing triple put his team into the lead at 7-4 with 3:44 to play in the opening stanza after several ugly offensive trips since the pair of Chernikov buckets. For the most part all evening long, both teams could not connect on shots that seemed to be more than make-able. A 4-0 run by Highlands was answered with a Jonathan Ochstein three-point play on a great lane curl flip shot for a 10-8 lead. Levine connected with Ori Guttman moments later in transition as Yavneh increased the margin to 4 points. The 12-8 score after 8 futile minutes of action saw the Bulldogs get out-shot 42-31% but 8 Highlands turnovers prevented the home team from controlling the game. The second quarter saw the missed shots intensify for both teams, only closer and closer to the basket. A Chernikov layup and then a jumper kept Yavneh afloat while the game stagnated to a defensive showcase that home-builders nationwide would be proud of. Noah Weiss tip-followed one of the buffet of missed shots by his team for a 19-12 lead. The first half ended with an Ochstein lane runner off a good feed from Chernikov for 21-13. Neither team sniffed 30% from the field in the first half, and while the Bulldogs minimized turnovers (6), they could simply not finish at the basket (7/22 in the paint).
Yavneh was in control and an 8 point lead in this Alaskan shooting festival actually felt much larger. Highlands, however, played their best basketball of the night during the 1:32 out of the halftime locker room. 4 points during that stretch made the score a very tenuous 21-17 for a brief moment. However, on a night where Noah Weiss did not do much, he came alive for a instant to dash Highlands comeback hopes and set the tone for a runaway half. Weiss followed an errant outside shot and then made a great post to post pass for another Chernikov finish at the rim. The suddenly 8 point lead again reached double-digits when Guttman became the latest teammate to set up a Chernikov layup. Highlands struggled mightily offensively but it was their inability to limit the easy Chernikov looks that cost them dearly. A string of defensive rebounds seemed to get Sophomore Noah Rubinstein going midway through the third period but it was his rainbow baseline jumper that just missed hitting the ceiling and splashed through the net for a 29-17 advantage 3:40 from the fourth quarter. Steve Levine also seemed to have an awakening in the latter stages of the third period as he gobbled up multiple steals and finished a pair of them with coast to coast layups. Highlands was totally befuddled with the Bulldogs transition game in the third period as Levine and then Guttman were running out and doing their patented transition attack drill. The quarter ended with a Rubinstein feed to Chernikov and then an exclamation point fast break finish by Guttman for a 41-24 lead. There was no looking back in the final period as the lead ballooned to 20 points for the Black and Red with no legitimate response. The teams combined for 36 points in the fourth quarter as Yavneh salted the game away at the free throw line and Highlands began to catch fire once there was no possible way they could make a threatening push. Daniel Chernikov’s career highs with 20 points and 12 rebounds led all scorers and was the ultimate difference maker in a game begging for any kind of an offensive outburst. Ori Guttman added 15 points of his own and was a lightning rod that clearly changed the pace of the game and buried Highlands when they were most vulnerable. Steve Levine also jumped into double figures with 11 points and 7 steals, much of which was in the pivotal third period. Also of note, the Noahs combined for 11 rebounds on a night where uncharacteristically the Bulldogs struggled to grab the ball.
Yavneh (15-8) has seen all but one team in the Super-District #3 of TAPPS 3A. Ironically, that team is the closest to them geographically as the long 13 minute walk to Dallas Covenant is all set for next Tuesday. The opportunity for a 3-0 road start to district play and 7-1 overall in district should have the Bulldogs hungry after a 3-day holiday weekend.
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