Adamson Public High School defeated Yavneh 57-36 Tuesday evening. The loss evens the Bulldogs record at 5-5.
Yavneh may have had their best shot to beat Adamson in the series’ history Tuesday night but they gave that opportunity away. Giving 47 extra possessions to a 5A public high school is not the formula for success and Adamson was ready to cash in. An almost unthinkable 32 Yavneh turnovers combined with Adamson’s 15 offensive rebounds (most of which were converted for easy baskets) gave away the 47 possessions. A gander at the scoreboard by game’s end and one would think Yavneh did not belong on the court with these guys. That, however, was not even close to the case Tuesday. In fact, the Bulldogs looked dominant for the first minutes. After turning the ball over for an easy transition lay-up on the very first possession of the game, Yavneh reeled off 9 straight Erez Krengel points. The score was 9-2 with 3:40 to go in the first quarter and the Bulldogs renewed defense was on display. They were getting the defensive rebounds that have been so elusive for many of the public school contests. All that would change in a very big way. The Bulldogs would not score again for the next 10 minutes and 30 seconds of game time. All the while, they were turning the ball over for kindergarten baskets and allowing multiple opportunities when they were fortunate enough to force an Adamson miss. The 24-0 Adamson run made Yavneh’s 17 point run from a night ago look minor and more importantly made the score 26-9. The 17 first half turnovers along with 3-18 shooting put Yavneh down but not out (yet) at 28-13 for halftime. The Bulldogs had to play better on the offensive end of the court but they could get back in the game simply by ceasing to turn the ball over. Two immediate third quarter turnovers for 4 quick Adamson points did not help matter en route to their 36-13 lead three minutes into the second half. Some semblance of a half court offense helped keep the game at a manageable 42-21 after three quarters. Yavneh made an early fourth quarter run to cut the lead to 42-26 with 6:36 to play using their own traps to turn Adamson over a couple of times. However, after the Adamson timeout, another three deadly Bulldog turnovers swung the score back to 48-26 and the lights were out for the evening. Adamson had three players in double figures, including a lightning quick guard (Alba) who provided enough of an offensive spark to carry Adamson throughout the game. Erez Krengel scored 16 points to lead all players. Sam Pulitzer and Michael San Soucie chased down 9 rebounds apiece but turnovers were the story tonight. The six missed free throws did not help matters either as the Bulldogs continue to struggle from the charity stripe. This game may go down as the most lopsided game that really just got away for a stretch in the first half. A 24-0 run will always do that, though.
Yavneh (5-5) will play Heritage Christian Thursday night. The two teams have had some battles in recent seasons with Yavneh controlling the majority of the contests.
The Kennel Report is written by Zack Pollack