Yavneh defeated Fasman Yeshiva of Skokie, IL 43-33 Friday afternoon in the Tier II Quarterfinals of the Memphis Cooper Invitational Tournament. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 1-1.
Its never really as bad as it seems sometimes. Already feeling better about Thursday’s disappointing opener having watched that same Hebrew Academy team take down #2 seed Frisch, Yavneh got some more great medicine Friday: The Fasman Yeshiva from Skokie, Illinois. The teams played to a stalemate for over two minutes at the outset before Adam Karnett found classmate Itai Guttman for two consecutive mid-lane hook shots for a 4-0 advantage. While the Bulldogs were pushing the pace right from the opening tip, the game remained very inept offensively on both sides. Freshman David Steinbrecher’s first career jump shot, a long two pointer, pushed the lead to 7-0 nearly five minutes in. Meanwhile, Skokie still had not made a shot since pre-game warmups. An 0/8 start put Fasman in a hole that would be very difficult to dig out of. Leading 11-4 after the first period, Yavneh upped the intensity to start the second frame. Led by an aggressive Junior Sam Kleinman, the game simply became too frenetic for Skokie. Kleinman found Sophomore Ori Guttman for two streaking transition opportunities, which not only produced points but also continued to wear down a team that did not want to run. The Bulldogs claimed their first double-digit lead with 1:48 remaining in the first half when Jason Epstein got into the lane and found David Rudomin for a finish at the rim. An 18-11 halftime lead was thanks mostly to a 33-20% shooting edge from the field. Itai Guttman led all scorers with 6 points but sat most of the second period with a pair of fouls to his name. The Bulldog lead could have been much larger but once again missed free throws (1/4) and wretched three point shooting (1/7) kept the game within reach.
As the pace of the game remained fast well into the second half, the three guard combo of Adam Karnett, Sam Kleinman, and Josh Lynn were too much for Fasman to handle. When that trio of quick transition finishers weren’t turning the ball over (6 during a 3 minute stretch to open the 3rd period), they were getting out in the open floor and creating easy scoring opportunities. If Skokie had the ability to capitalize on the Yavneh mistakes, the 27 turnovers would have been a big-time problem. As it was, one point late in the third period featured 5 consecutive possessions by each team ending in a turnover. It was like a Nascar race of giveaways until the Bulldogs put things back together early in the fourth quarter. A 13-0 run included a David Steinbrecher triple and a Karnett to Kleinman transition finish for a game-high 36-17 margin. That spurt allowed the Bulldogs not to sweat even after a 12-0 Skokie run late in the final period.
Adam Karnett led all scorers with 12 points and 5 assists. Kleinman added 9 points of his own while Itai Guttman grabbed 12 rebounds. Senior Josh Lynn recorded 8 defensive rebounds of his own to solidify a nice 40-31 rebounding victory for the Bulldogs. Yavneh (1-1) will play Boca Raton, Florida’s Weinbaum Yeshiva Saturday night for a chance to play for the Tier II championship. That game figures to be a much stiffer test and is the quality win that could jump start this team for a rigorous November schedule back in Texas.
The Kennel Report, now in its ninth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
TL-BW-SP