Yavneh defeated Anna High School 61-43 Monday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 11-4.
On a night in which the opposing teams did more passing to opponents than teammates, Yavneh took advantage during a 15-3 second period and held on comfortably despite some shaky moments late. The teams actually played a somewhat clean first period before the madness began. Senior Captain Jake Greif’s circus finish in the opening moments tied the game at 4-4. Anna’s high pressure defense limited the Bulldogs early but led to easy offensive opportunities for a 13-12 lead after one period. Yavneh maintained a very high shooting percentage in the second quarter but they just could not get enough field goal attempts to make the success pay off. Finally, a Kevin Sulski pinpoint find of Sam Kleinman cutting lefty backdoor opened things up at 17-12. It was at that point that both teams started to give away the basketball at an alarming rate. As if that wasnt enough sudden change of possession, the referee crew decided to have a clearance sale on charges at one point in the second stanza. No less than 5 charges were called on the two teams combined during this stretch. Through the clutter, however, the Bulldogs made just enough plays to cash in on Anna’s mistakes. Sophomore Adam Karnett, rejuvenated with his swollen but playable shoulder, found Josh Lynn for a wing three ball and the gloves were finally off. A Greif tip-in extended the lead to double digits for the first time at 26-15. The game would never revert to a single digit margin again. 28-15 was the Yavneh halftime lead and that was with 14 turnovers against them. 61% shooting functioned as a great flotation device but this season’s third period woes left a ton of cause for concern.
An immediate Anna layup to begin the second half seemingly before the clock even started had the entire building predicting another Bulldog run allowed to start a second half. Jordan Prescott, however, decided to play the second half. He immediately answered with 2 of his 17 second half points. What was most encouraging was Prescott’s ability to slice and dice through the Anna pressure defense and get right to the rim. All 17 points came from inside the three point line, proving that high percentage shots do indeed win basketball games. Yavneh was not without outside support as Lynn recorded a second triple for a 37-19 lead halfway through the third quarter. As Sulski lasered another of his 5 assists to Senior Ben Romaner for a 45-24 lead the Bulldogs were on their way to a sixth straight victory. Anna did not give up and actually cut the lead with a 12-4 run to start the final period. Sophomore Itai Guttman scored on a bank baby hook and Prescott slithered to the basket once more to right the ship and hold off any serious threat the rest of the way. Prescott led the way with 23 points but got plenty of support with 9 other players recording points including 3 with 6+.
After a week in which the Bulldogs made some potential blowouts way too interesting it was nice to see a solid performance against a team typically at or near the top of a competitive Texas 4A district. Yavneh (11-4) has now won 6 in a row since forgetting to play the first 5 minutes on a dreadful Saturday evening in Houston. Tuesday brings a difficult road test against another small town Texas public school in Avalon. While this is exactly the situation in which Bulldog teams have struggled in the past, the possibility of 7 in a row adds an additional dynamic. Not only would this be a great road win but also serve as another Sarachek preparatory contest.
The Kennel Report, now in its eighth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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