Liberty Christian of Argyle, Texas defeated Yavneh 68-47 Tuesday night. The loss drops the Bulldogs record to 12-4.
For 16 minutes, Yavneh had the #3 ranked Texas Private high school basketball team on the ropes in their gym. For two quarters, Liberty Christian shot 23% and were searching for answers on the offensive end. For a half of basketball, the TAPPS 5-A powerhouse from Argyle couldn’t figure out if Chanukah was spelled with a CH or just an H, and certainly couldn’t shake a pesky Bulldogs effort. A defensive battle right from the start, Yavneh hung in with a nice interior play from posts Itai Guttman to Adam Schor before Liberty went on an early run. A 10-2 spurt late in the opening period of play broke open a methodically close game due to some untimely Bulldog turnovers. The LC lead was 15-8 at the end of that first period with Yavneh actually out-shooting the home team 33-31%. 6 turnovers as well as a 6 rebound disadvantage kept the Bulldogs at bay. A nice Sam Kleinman to Itai Guttman lob play chopped the lead to just 5 points early in the second quarter. Yavneh was playing stifling defense but just could not rebound the basketball. Liberty Christian could not throw a breadcrumb into the ocean but somehow that ocean kept returning more and more flour right to their hands in the form of Yavneh missed box outs. On one occasion, Liberty missed 6 shots on one single possession and still had no points to show for it. Even with more second chances than Tony Romo and Jason Garrett, LC still had not scored nearly 4 minutes into the second stanza. The problem for the Bulldogs, however, was that were not taking advantage. Itai Guttman made a fantastic post move to surge the Bulldogs to within 3 points at 15-12 and Kleinman found Schor later to trim the lead yet again. Instead, though, of turning all the missed shots into transition opportunities, Yavneh was spending all their time looking up and admiring 20 (yes 20) first half offensive rebounds. The Bulldogs got an Ori Guttman triple to end the first half and trail 24-19 as an alternative to the 8 point deficit but the fact that they trailed at all was concerning. Both teams had their share of issues: Liberty was shooting just 23% and knew that had to improve. Yavneh gave up 20 second chances but only had 8 turnovers and actually won the second period 11-9. As is usually the case, the third period would establish control of the game. While often times there is an extended run that turns the game, Liberty did it all in a flash on this night. In just 2 minutes and 6 short seconds, Liberty had almost doubled their second quarter scoring with a 13-2 run that shell-shocked Yavneh. Suddenly, the home team was confidently getting out in transition with little resistance and finishing a pair of three point plays on the back end. Adam Karnett responded with a three point play of his own but for every Bulldog score there were 2-3 LC baskets in between. The team that had confused basketball and golf’s scoring systems just a period earlier was no clicking on all cylinders on their home floor. A 26-9 third period opened up the game 50-28 after three periods of play. The Bulldogs would once again settle themselves and actually gain a point in the final quarter but the damage had been done. For just a brief few moments focus had been lost and against a team like Liberty Christian that is a few moments too long. The combination of size and three point shooting ability combined with a solid floor general made it virtually impossible for Yavneh to make the extended run needed to get back into the game late. Adam Karnett led the team with 15 points followed by Adam Schor with 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 more blocked shots. While the Bulldogs did not turn the ball over at nearly the rate they had been, the 27 offensive rebounds allowed were the real storyline as to why LC ultimately pulled away. Further, they did not force nearly their normal amount of turnovers with only four Liberty Christian give-aways being a season low for a YHS opponent.
Yavneh (12-4) will look to get well Thursday as they host Fairhill. The game will be the final one before the winter break and also the last of Calendar 2012. A 13th win would be a great accomplishment to go along with how well the Bulldogs battled an elite team Tuesday night.
The Kennel Report, now in its ninth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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