Yavneh defeated Sunset Public High School 63-55 Monday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 7-2.
Adam Karnett scored 23 points behind 25 forced team turnovers as the Yavneh winning streak climbed to six games Monday. In a see-saw affair, the Bulldogs simply imposed their will and wore down a gritty 5A Dallas area public school to win a close game against Sunset for the second straight year. The pace was quick from the outset as Karnett scored early off the opening tip. The Bulldogs nice interior passing in the opening eight minutes from posts Itai Guttman and Adam Schor as the team built a 15-11 leading after one period of play. Karnett shot out of the gate with 7 points as transition scoring opportunities fueled the Yavneh offense. The Bulldogs were hurt all night long with defensive breakdowns leading to a host of corner three point opportunities for Sunset and even worse a sea of offensive rebounds. Sunset grabbed their first lead at 22-21 early in the second period. With no less than 5 lead changes in the first half, the game had many ebbs and flows. The Bulldogs would pressure their way to a 6-0 run only to be answered by a series of offensive rebounds leading to an open three point look. Sunset maintained a 28-27 lead at halftime but both teams were struggling. Neither team could stop turning the ball over (8 Yav/9 Suns) and neither team could take advantage from the free throw line either (1/4 Yav, 3/6 Suns) Karnett led all scorers with 13 points while back court mate Sam Kleinman dished out 6 assists. Whichever team could clean up the mistakes was sure to take control of the game. Typically, the Bulldogs either take control in the third period or fall into a hole that is all too difficult to dig out of. On this night, however, the see-saw would continue well into the second half. The Yavneh pressure was causing Sunset fits as a 6-0 burst out of the halftime locker room set the home team up with a 33-28 edge. Sophomore Ori Guttman swiped a ball at mid-court and took it the distance for the 5 point lead. Sunset, however, would score 4 of the game’s next 5 points to remain within contact. Freshman David Steinbrecher floated a pass to Kleinman for a 38-32 advantage but for all the Yavneh defensive intensity leading to points, Sunset was off-setting with a mastery on the offensive boards at times as well. While a slick inbounds pass from Kleinman to budding Junior post Adam Schor surged the Bulldogs in front 42-39, a discouraging 6-0 Sunset run had Yavneh staring down a potential deficit going to the final period. The final 1:03 of the third quarter, however, belonged to Adam Karnett. After connecting on a pair of free throws and a team stop, he found an opening at the top of the key to receive an outlet pass from Itai Guttman for a straight-away triple with 6 seconds to play. The basket gave the Bulldogs a 47-45 lead heading to the final stanza and momentum sure seemed to be on the home side once again. Kleinman opened the fourth period with two nice helpers, one to each Junior post player. The four point lead did not last long, though, as Sunset was the beneficiary of a bad bounce turned into an old-fashioned three point play to leave the game’s margin at a single point with 5:15 to go in the game. With the game squarely in the balance, Ori Guttman drove the lane and finished off the glass for a 53-50 lead. On the ensuing possession, Guttman then made a circus off-balance tip steal and shoveled the ball to Karnett who finished the play for 55-50 with 4:32 to play. Sunset once again would respond with the help of more offensive rebounds, and despite a Karnett floater in between points trailed only by a basket with 1:46 remaining. Yavneh needed a stop to officially avoid blowing a fourth period lead of any kind for the first time this season. Schor stood strong on the baseline and forced the turnover that his team so desperately needed. Moments later Kleinman provided a four-point cushion with a baseline jumper. With Sunset clearly gassed and wanting no more of the Bulldog pressure that had fueled a second half attack, Yavneh amped up the pressure one more time with the insertion of a small-ball lineup designed to prevent even a shot attempt. Sunset was only too happy to pass the ball right into Kleinman’s hands and Senior Josh Lynn drained a corner three ball for a game-high 62-55 margin. Finally, someone had a three possession lead in this game over 31 minutes in. Sunset would not get another shot attempt off the Bulldog half court trapping zone until the very last seconds with the game no longer in any peril. 18 was the magic number—18 Bulldog turnovers, 18 offensive rebounds allowed, but somehow still a victory. 25 forced turnovers apparently was just enough to off-set all those extra Sunset possessions in the form of transition points. While the main benefactor was Adam Karnett with his 23 points, Adam Schor followed with an electric 10 point/11 rebound double-double. Kleinman did just about everything he could scoring 8 points to go along with 10 assists and 6 steals. Itai Guttman gobbled up 13 rebounds to go along with his own 7 points.
Yavneh (7-2) will have the holiday weekend to fix its turnover and rebounding issues before hosting Burton Adventist next Monday. Six straight wins and now a 5A Public school victory under their belts, the Bulldogs know that their toughest test yet might very well be awaiting them in just shy of a week’s time.
The Kennel Report, now in its ninth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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