Yavneh defeated Thomas Jefferson Public High School 60-50 Monday night. The win improves the Bulldogs record to 2-1.
Who knew that it was the night of the big turnaround? Surviving a bus ride to the wrong game location, a 4 point third quarter horror show, and 17 erratic turnovers, Yavneh used a 25 point explosion to turn around the game just as they had the bus hours earlier.
It was abundantly clear early on that the game within the game was going to be Yavneh’s execution versus their public school counterparts ability to scramble the game into a frenetic slop-fest. To TJ’s credit the visitors succeeded for most of the first three periods Monday. Turnovers plagued both teams right from the start. Each squad featured their own version of a high pressure defense en route to a 8-7 opening stanza in favor of TJ. The contributing factors to this were 9 turnovers for the Bulldogs as well as just 18% shooting. TJ’s version of pressure led to some serious foul issues all evening long. In fact, Yavneh practically lived at the free throw line in the second quarter. Being in the foul bonus for the final 7 minutes + of the first half yielded 15 free throw attempts. It really should have been more if not for the impatience of the Bulldog offense. The game, however, see-sawed for nearly the entire second period as Yavneh struggled from the charity stripe. There was a 6 minute stretch in which neither team had a lead of more than 2 points. Senior Captain Jordan Prescott found classmate Ben Romaner rolling to the basket and followed that up with a big three point hit to give the Bulldogs a two point lead. TJ countered with five straight possessions in which they got at least one second chance opportunity. The teams continued to exchange body blows until finally Yavneh’s parade to the free throw line created some separation. A gorgeous lob pass from Sophomore Adam Karnett to a fading Prescott ignited a 9-4 run to end the first half. Post Itai Guttman banked in a 12 footer to cap the run and the home team had the lead 31-26 at halftime. The Bulldogs got 17 points from their star scoring threat, had seemingly stemmed the tide in regards to turnovers (only 1 in 2nd Quarter), and seemed poised to execute their way to a victory against a young and at times out of control opponent. The 7 missed free throws, though, left the door open as this should have been a double digit lead for the Bulldogs.
The momentum that Yavneh had built up with the late first half run did not carry over. Specifically, it would be another six minutes + until they would once again crack the scoreboard. Meanwhile TJ put together a 12-0 start to the second half with offensive rebounds and Bulldog turnovers as the ammunition. When Oscar Morris drilled a left wing triple TJ suddenly led by 7 points at 38-31. Prescott finally tallied a pair of free throws with 1:32 remaining in the third period but the damage was done. Yavneh once again could not grab a loose ball. Every rebound bounce and deflection eluded the home team again on this night. Luckily, the scoring tandem of Prescott and Karnett provided fourth quarter magic. As much as the Bulldogs were hurt by giveaways at points throughout the game, TJ embarked on a fourth period chock full of turnovers that resulted in uncontested layups for Yavneh. On two occasions the TJ lead was trimmed to 5 points including Senior Kevin Sulski’s theft to layup that began the 15-4 outburst turning the game around. Jordan Prescott’s jersey sports a double dose of the number 2 but on most nights he makes his impact in sets of three. Trailing 44-39, Yavneh inserted Sophomore Sam Kleinman who found Prescott behind the arc for his first of three consecutive offensive trips with three point plays. The first from long distance cut the lead to 3 points followed by a tough move inside with a foul to trifecta the lead to just a pair of points. There was no hesitation in his catch and release bomb to tie the game at 48-48 on the very next trip. The rebounding problem remained but alas Adam Karnett had a solution. Knowing full well that his team had not shown any ability to secure a defensive rebound down the stretch, Karnett chose the best time of all for a pair of his patented halfcourt swipe and break away moves. Two free throws and an uncontested layup later the Bulldogs had indeed climbed the mountain and now lead 52-48 with 2:14 to play. The question remained as to how Yavneh would secure enough loose balls in the final 134 seconds to escape. In the game primarily for his propensity to find openings in opponents’ man to man defense, Sam Kleinman provided the kill shot that this team most desperately needed. He snagged 3 enormous rebounds in the game’s final 2 minutes to unravel the clearly shaken Thomas Jefferson camp. A technical foul and a slew of desperation fouls inflated the margin of victory but the Bulldogs had prevailed. Prescott led all scorers with a season-high 33 points with 8 rebounds while Karnett supported the cause with 15 points of his own. While the big man trio struggled offensively once again, Seniors Ben Romaner and Jake Greif made big time contributions. Greif took a triumvirate of charges when the team needed them the most and also vacuumed up 6 rebounds. Romaner made some great defensive plays and had the one key finish inside.
In the first game that had to be won in crunch time, the Bulldogs absolutely came through in the clutch. The grit and determination of a team down but not nearly out shows the character of what this team can be. They will need much more where Monday night came from as Yavneh (2-1) is just beginning a stretch of 6 games in 7 days. Cambridge is up next Tuesday night at home.
The Kennel Report, now in its eighth season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
TL