Yavneh defeated Poetry Community Christian 68-56 Monday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 22-5.
Poetry is defined as …”work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm…”. Adam Karnett used that “special intensity” to gather 27 points and Yavneh defeated, or at least outlasted the entire city of Poetry, Texas Monday. In a more than hostile environment, the Bulldogs had to battle the crowd, a pair of predictable hometown referees, an awkward court setup, and one scrappy veteran basketball team. The teams shot out of the gate with 16 combined points in less than two minutes. The early pace was frenetic to Yavneh’s liking but the road team seemed to lose focus shortly thereafter. Extremely poor shot selection combined with 7 first period turnovers led to an 11-4 Poetry run. The Bulldogs were throwing up prayers for shots and connected on just 5 of their first 20 field goals. The environment started to get to them just as they normally rely on the opponent to get overwhelmed and cave in. Trailing by 4 points after a single quarter of play, Yavneh got a nice high to low post pass from Adam Steinbrecher to Itai Guttman in opening up the second period. While both teams were hot at the start of the game, the second period was a different story altogether. Turnovers and low percentage shots dominated most of the quarter. Poetry inched their way to a 21-15 lead as once again the Bulldogs were a bit out of sorts with assist master Sam Kleinman sitting on the bench in foul trouble. The best defense for Yavneh’s single season assist leader has been his own excessive public displays of affection all year long. The team just does not seem to flow as well on either end of the court with Kleinman barking signals from the bench and this night was no exception. The best offensive weapon during the first half was Senior Josh Lynn and his three pointers. Connecting on three triples when his team needed them the most, Lynn trimmed the lead to just 3 points on one of them. Karnett led a mini 6-2 run that put Yavneh back in front by finally creating the easy transition opportunities the Bulldogs are known for. First, he found Itai Guttman off a tricky steal and then was the middle-man in a Guttman steal to Adam Schor for a timely finish at the rim. More lack of composure by Yavneh to end the half squared the game at 25-25 despite the ferocious Karnett-led run that shifted momentum to the road bench. 12 turnovers and 30% shooting on the road left the Bulldogs lucky to be in a halftime tie for the second straight game. Yavneh seemed to calm down at the start of the second half at long last. With a couple good defensive possessions and a full complement of players back on the court, the Bulldogs grabbed a 29-25 advantage. However, just as the game seemed to be under control, Poetry flipped the chaos switch and responded with a 7-2 run. The game once again turned ugly and was getting extremely physical. With no control over the game, the referees were starting to grasp at straws with some of their questionable opinions on both sides. One of those calls, a strange technical foul on Itai Guttman, seemed to inspire the Bulldogs and light the fire that willed the team to victory. Moments later, Lynn connected on another monster triple for a 39-36 lead. Yavneh actually trailed at the end of the third period courtesy of another strange whistle in the corner on a desperation buzzer three point attempt. Jason Epstein found Lynn for a third momentum three ball, this time starting the final period and putting Yavneh back into the lead for good at 44-42. One offensive trip later, Karnett finished a ginormous three point play while pin-balling to the floor for a 48-44 edge. Kleinman returned from another fouling vacation only to extend a tenuous single basket lead with a clutch long distance wing jumper off a pass from Itai Guttman with 4:34 to play. Guttman, who had struggled most of the night in several different areas, made two big field goals down the stretch including a tip-in for a 60-54 lead with 1:59 left. Kleinman’s fourth assist was to Adam Karnett in transition and was a game sealer with 1:39 remaining. Guttman and Schor did a much better job once again in the final 6 minutes on the glass after the Bulldogs allowed another 14 offensive rebounds prior to that. A hustling Guttman rolled across the floor with only seconds remaining in the hopes of chasing down one final loose ball. The effort capped off a hard fought win and had nothing to do with the fact that he happened to be rolling towards the pizza at the concession stands. Karnett led all scorers with a gritty 27 point, 7 rebound, 7 assist performance. Itai Guttman recorded his second straight double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds to go along with 4 blocked shots. Josh Lynn also chipped in 11 points with the trio of timely three pointers that were key in the victory. Adam Schor also had a huge rebounding night in vacuuming up 15 boards. Both Adam Steinbrecher and David Rudomin pitched in important minutes throughout the game and Sam Kleinman was effective in his time on the court. Also of note, Jason Epstein grabbed four more rebounds of his own at key stretches.
Yavneh (22-5) is thrilled to be in the win column after a tough and grueling road test. There is, however, no time to celebrate and relax. Tuesday’s forecast calls for the first of two meetings with Dallas Thunder. The teams have not played in several years but have split the all-time series 1-1. It will be important to continue to ride the wave of momentum as the Thunder are very talented and should provide a stiff test.
The Kennel Report, now in its ninth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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