Trinity Christian School of Cedar Hill defeated Yavneh 77-56 Monday night. The loss drops the Bulldogs record to 13-8 (4-1).
The #1 “small” private school in Texas took away an undefeated 2015, a perfect 14 game TAPPS 3A district winning streak, and 37 possessions Monday night from the Bulldogs in bullying their way to a 21 point victory. Eerily similar to the Baltimore semifinal defeat to Beth Tfiloh, Yavneh failed to play from the outset and it was lethal. A 16-2 start for Beth Tfiloh was nearly erased on that fateful Friday morning and on this night it would be 16-1 against a much tougher foe. It took less than 2 minutes for Trinity to rack up 8 quick points all off of Bulldog miscues before a Jonathan Ochstein free throw broke the spell. Unfortunately, 8 more points on a couple more turnovers and some quick shot rebounds that turned into easy finishes for Trinity completed the 16-1 barrage in just 3:22 of game time. The visitors were on pace to score 135 points but much of the start was self-inflicted by the Bulldogs. 7 early turnovers (over 2 per minute) and only 4 shot attempts led to 8/10 Trinity shooting and easy points to be had. Ochstein found Daniel Chernikov for a layup off a much needed timeout and moments later Steve Levine canned a left wing triple to instantly cut the lead to 10 points. Super sub Ori Guttman provided the momentum Yavneh so desperately needed with two transition baskets set up by Levine and at long last the Bulldogs were off and running. A great feed from Levine to Noah Rubinstein off an out of bounds play trimmed the Trinity advantage to 23-15 at the end of the first period. All things considered Yavneh had survived the first quarter despite getting blitzed and then some to start. Only 1 turnover over the last 6 minutes plus enabled the Bulldogs to eliminate nearly half of the lead and get themselves into the basketball game. Guttman continued to shine in the comeback effort with another basket to start the second period followed by a full court heave against the Trinity pressure that found Noah Weiss for an and-one finish by way of Jonathan Ochstein’s outstretched hand. The Weiss free throw completed a 19-7 Bulldog run to cut the lead to just 3 points at 23-20. Every good run, however, was greeted with more turnovers against the pressure defense. An easy 6-0 Trinity response denied Yavneh the chance to completely climb the mountain but Senior Grant Prengler would not allow the Bulldogs to go back into a double digit hole. Prengler twice assisted Weiss, once in the traditional sense on a great feed for a layup and then another time on a steal/spin move into the lane turned missed layup for the simple follow. Once again the Bulldogs were within 32-27 and 1:21 to play in the half. An 8-2 Trinity spurt over the next 57 seconds was briefly broken by a timely Ochstein tip-follow but Cam Allen’s desperation buzzer-beating three point prayer was answered to give Trinity a 9 point lead at the break. 21 Yavneh turnovers was the story of the first half but additionally they missed 12 shots inside the painted area which could have swung the game in itself.
The third quarter is usually pivotal and this game was no exception. Yavneh’s response out of halftime was similar to their statement to start the game: more turnovers. 6 of them again in less than 2 minutes coupled with another missed layup opened the door for Trinity separation. 49-31 made it 25-1 in the first two minutes of each half combined. Guttman scored 4 more points off the bench and Weiss continued to battle as the Bulldogs would not go away. On one instance Weiss climbed high for an offensive rebound and on the next trip Levine assisted Daniel Chernikov to cut the deficit to 13 points. That is, however, the closest the game would be the rest of the night. Turnovers continued to be the primary weapon for Trinity as their pressure never relented all night long. Yavneh played well in long stretches but it was the short stacking of mistakes that accounted for nearly all of the critical points allowed. In all, 37 turnovers sealed the fate of the home team to go along with 23 missed shots in the paint. While it is technically possible to win a football national title turning the ball over 4 times as much as your opponent (see Ohio State), it is highly improbable that a high school basketball game can be won with over a giveaway every minute played. Noah Weiss led the team with a strong double-double (15 pts/13 reb) on sizzling 7/8 shooting. Ori Guttman chipped in 13 points while Daniel Chernikov added 10 points of his own. A very active Jonathan Ochstein played the entire 32 minutes against relentless pressure, tallying 9 points and 8 rebounds.
Yavneh (13-8) now has a district loss but is still in complete control of the all-important 2nd spot in District 3. With absolutely no time to reflect on a draining basketball game, the Bulldogs face the potential of a tough emotional let-down game Tuesday at Lutheran. With no margin for error after the events of Monday night, the mettle of this basketball team will be tested in what needs to be a bounce-back game instead. Trinity and Yavneh will meet again down the road this season but for now the two teams will do their best to take care of business amongst the other 7 teams hungry to knock off one of the district Giants.
The Kennel Report, now in its eleventh season, has been written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
TL-BW-SP-BR