Yavneh defeated Avalon Public High School 74-48 Tuesday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 19-5.
For the second night in a row 10 different Yavneh players scored, the three point line was more than friendly, and the pressure defense broke another Bulldog opponent for a blowout victory. Having experienced the trip first hand last year, Yavneh players were well aware how far Avalon was from home when they jumped the road weary visitors right from the get go. Avalon was in no way ready for the type of pressure the Bulldogs were putting on there guards in the first period of play. With turnovers on 5 of their first 6 possessions, the home team was busy feasting on easy transition opportunities. A 15-3 Yavneh start was fueled mostly by Adam Karnett in transition and Adam Schor cleaning up right at the rim. Schor scored 10 of his 13 points in the opening stanza, mostly at the back end of all the pressure chances. 7 steals ended up leading to a gaudy 10 Avalon turnovers in the initial 8 minute segment alone. With the lead at 19-7 after one period, Senior Josh Lynn caught fire in the second quarter to make matters so much worse for Avalon. Sinking a triple portion of triples, Lynn was catching the ball in rhythm and barely even grazed the net on any of his attempts. Operating solo in the post with Itai Guttman unavailable (toe), Avalon still had no answer for Adam Schor. 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 blocks for Schor helped the Bulldogs to a 38-19 double-them-up halftime lead. Avalon was actually out-shooting Yavneh but their 18 turnovers just simply did not provide them with enough shot opportunities.
As Avalon started to get some traction offensively in the second half, they quickly found out that trading baskets was no way to trim down a 19 point lead. In fact, the Bulldogs continued to get the better half of the trade as they continued to connect from three point range. Adam Steinbrecher, Grant Prengler, and Ori Guttman all built on their strong games from Monday in connecting on a three pointer. Nearly all of them were assisted by Junior Sam Kleinman, who had assists on three straight possessions in the third period. Avalon just could not seem to catch up with all the three point action in the second half. Epstein and Epstein hooked up on a creative Almost 3 point play as Meir shot-passed to Jason for a tip-in three point play opportunity minus the free throw. The final period, however, belonged to David Steinbrecher. He registered four field goals (3 of them three balls) as well as a pair of free throws for a career-high 13 points. When Meir Epstein drilled a mid-range jumper with 2:43 remaining, the only drama left was whether the Bulldogs would score 70 points so that the fans could get FREE Matzah Tacos. Adam Schor and David Steinbrecher scored 13 points apiece to lead the team with Schor also recording four more blocked shots. Adam Karnett and Josh Lynn each followed with 9 points, Karnett doing his damage inside and at the free throw line while Lynn dominated outside the three point arc. Sam Kleinman added to his assist total with 7 more to distribute a victory for his team. Also of note, Jason Epstein continued to climb ladders in collecting three more offensive rebounds. The taller 95% of the players continue to wonder how exactly he does it.
Yavneh (19-5) looks forward to renewing their rivalry Wednesday with Covenant after a hiatus of several years. A win not only would give the Bulldogs a 20-win season for the seventh time in school history but also would even up the series with Covenant at 3-3. Covenant was a TAPPS state semifinalist just last February.
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