Yavneh defeated Dallas Thunder 49-47 Monday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 25-5.
Adam Schor’s two free throws broke a tie with exactly one minute remaining and Yavneh held on for dear life Monday despite struggling wire to wire. Apparently Yavneh students were under the impression that they could fulfill community service hours requirements through handing basketballs over to visiting opponents. Unfortunately, however, no credit was given for any of the 27 giveaways Monday night in making things super difficult for the Bulldogs. The same Dallas Thunder team that had seemingly figured things out less than a week ago during a too little too late second half run, got off to a 7-4 lead on this night. Sam Kleinman and Adam Karnett keyed a 4-0 response before the wheels came off in the first period. Back-to-back Yavneh turnovers turned directly into Thunder layups for the first 4 points of 16 straight that they would cash in off mistakes in a row. While the Bulldogs were gift-wrapping Thunder baskets, they themselves were working quite hard for their own points. David Rudomin found Itai Guttman for a circular finish at the basket and then Guttman turned a nice blocked shot into a Kleinman assist to Karnett for a three point play at the basket. The Bulldogs were able to engineer a 9-2 ending of the opening stanza for a 17-13 advantage. Sadly, though, Yavneh continued to turn the ball over during a 12-2 start for the Thunder in the second period. The transition opportunities included uncontested layups, three point plays, and even a long distance triple connection. The pace at times was frenetic like Yavneh wants it but the quick tempo did not convert to many points on the scoreboard for the home team. Karnett was able to get out in transition during a game salvaging 8-0 spurt towards the end of the first half. Karnett’s scampers to the basket were producing points and a Guttman to Guttman tip-in play actually tied the game at 29-29 late in the half. The Bulldogs actually held a slim 32-31 lead at the half with Itai Guttman leading the way to the tune of 13 points, 10 rebounds. The two teams had combined for 23 turnovers, horrendous 1/11 three point shooting, and 16 free throw attempts allowed.
The pace continued to be lightning quick in the third period but bodies were flying at a 4/1 ratio to made field goals. A 7-2 Thunder start to the second half had Yavneh searching for answers just over two minutes into the third period. Having no shortage of bricks and turnovers but only 2 points of their own, the rattled Bulldogs turned to a lineup of the Steinbrecher brothers, Senior Josh Lynn, and captains Adam Schor/Karnett. With that group on the floor, the scoreboard might as well have had its own power outage. For the next 4:08 that group stepped up defensively and the score remained a 38-34 Thunder edge. All it took was one Josh Lynn corner triple to make dire straights just a 1 point margin in the blink of an eye. In fact, Karnett would find Schor at the basket for a 39-38 lead to end that strange third period. As both teams continued to struggle through every passing minute, the Thunder re-built their 4 point advantage at 44-40 nearly halfway into the final quarter. With the Bulldogs starting to cycle back their starting unit for one last push, foul difficulties dictated the way both teams handled personnel down the stretch. No less than 3 Thunder players were one foul way from elimination while assist king Sam Kleinman was saddled for Yavneh. The Thunder could have extended the lead to six points but missed a pair of free throws that led to a Kleinman find of Rudomin on the other end. That 4 point swing put the deficit at a single basket and opened the door for the Bulldogs to capture the lead. Both teams missed some enormous free throws at key teams including a pair of front end one-and-one attempts on simultaneous possessions. Out of that mess Kleinman connected on a clutch three ball to recapture the lead for Yavneh. It seemed as if every trip down there was a foul resulting in bonus free throws each way. With the score tied at 46-46 Adam Schor toed the foul line with exactly the minute to go. After drilling both for 48-46 each team split their next pair of free throws setting up a frantic final 3.1 seconds. Still ahead by two points, the Bulldogs forced an off balance prayer from the Thunder in the far corner that had no realistic chance to go in. Surviving 27 turnovers, 2/14 three point shooting, and 7 missed free throws had a lot to do with an utter domination in rebounding by Yavneh. 43-20 was the final tally in boards with Itai Guttman picking up 14 to go along with his 13 points. Adam Karnett also notched 13 points while Adam Schor vacuumed up 10 rebounds of his own. Kleinman picked up 6 more assists to go along with his 4 steals. The defensive efforts of David Steinbrecher, Ori Guttman, David Rudomin, and Adam Steinbrecher were important at different times in the second half as the game required nearly each of the stops they achieved. Also of note, Itai Guttman’s 4 blocked shots now make him the all-time Bulldog career leader in blocks.
Yavneh (25-5) is now off until Thursday when they theatrically prepare for a showdown with Waco Methodist. This will be the first meeting between the schools, who both have stellar records to this point.
The Kennel Report, now in its ninth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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