Yavneh defeated Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School 46-39 and then The Abraham Joshua Heschel School of New York 54-42 in the first two of five preliminary games at the The 31st Annual Joseph and Florence Weiner Memorial Tournament in Baltimore, Maryland Wednesday. The Bulldogs season record now stands at a pristine 9-0.
Yavneh began the road to defending their coveted Weiner Tournament championship Wednesday with a sweep on Day 1 in less than impressive fashion. The Bulldogs stumbled their way to the pair of wins in what, all things considered, may be the test of wills that will be necessary to secure this feat. The first game featured an inspired host school Beth Tfiloh trying desperately to slow down the vaunted Yavneh attack that had posted 70+ points in 6 of their 7 games to date. In this contest, however, points would be at a premium. Both teams seemed as if they were playing their first tournament game, nervously grinding defensively to a 2-2 draw over 4 minutes into the first period. Ofek Reef and Jonah Eber recorded big-time blocked shots but in 6 minutes of action a Griffin Levine Sr pullup jumper and a Reef steal for a layup were all the points the Bulldogs could muster. The final 1:50 of the opening stanza saw the Yavneh pressure defense finally break through with an 8-2 spurt. Eber and Pierce Bell came up with important steals to kick-start the run, Micah Romaner found Bell for an easy finish, and Reef assisted Levine as well as drilling a triple for a 14-6 edge. 9 forced turnovers salvaged the first period and the situation looked for all the world as if the Bulldogs would run BT out of their own gym. The lead reached double-digits as Bell picked up a great steal-and-score through a backwards feed from Levine. Levine added 6 quick points in a row during a critical stretch late in the first half courtesy of a trio of free throws followed by a more traditional wing three pointer. Reef flopped his way into a sitting steal to end the first half with a feed to Levine through Bell. That play was representative of really the entire two games for Yavneh with their Big Three doing it all. 28-13 was the halftime lead behind a major 13-2 forced turnover edge. The warning signs of horrendous three point shooting (1/11) and 6 offensive rebounds allowed were concerning but a 15-point advantage was not overly concerning. Beth Tfiloh, however, would play much better in the second half. Yavneh managed just 8 points in the third period while struggling to score the basketball and had difficulty keeping BT off the offensive glass. Reef and Levine tallied key baskets late in the period to maintain the slimmest of double-digit leads but the game was tightening. BT Junior point guard sensation Harris Gartenhaus drilled a monster trifecta and then assisted on Kameron Glazer’s AND-ONE to complete an extended 13-5 run. With the Bulldog edge at just 4 points with 6:01 to play, Reef responded with two free throws, a lefty finish, and two points engineered by a Levine helper. The game never got closer than 4 points but did that on three different occasions. Several missed free throws left the door open but time was not on the host school’s side. The final chance within 4 points was with 2:06 to play but ultimately Levine picked off one final pass, earning a pair of free throws that was able to salt the game away at 44-37 with 31.6 seconds remaining. Griffin Levine scored 22 points, Ofek Reef notched a double-double with 18 points/14 rebounds, and Pierce Bell tallied the remaining 6 points. A 22-6 turnover margin won Yavneh this game but losing rebounds by double digits, missing 8 free throws, and shooting a cool 11% (2/17) from three point range were signs of concern heading into a Top 10 matchup with Heschel. For Beth Tfiloh, whose comeback fell a couple minutes and 4 points short, got 19 points from Gartenhaus to go along with 8 rebounds. Both he and Levine proved their worth as the premier Jewish high school basketball guards in the country and set up an interesting showdown in a potential rematch come the elimination rounds.
Yavneh would seemingly have to play much better to stay with Heschel, whom the Bulldog have never been able to defeat. Both teams seemed slowed by nagging injuries and just overall sluggishness in this second game in 3 hours. In anything but a crisp basketball game, the Bulldogs treaded water with some mini-spurts just long enough to make one damaging run in this one. The game had an inauspicious beginning with a bench technical administered to the Bulldogs for dunking during warmups. With Heschel awarded two free points before the game even started, a fourth scorer on the day emerged to knot the game at 2-2. Senior Captain Micah Romaner gathered in a Pierce Bell pass for a dramatic tomahawk layup with flair to even the score. The Manhattan-based high school was clearly rattled by Romaner’s heroics. Ofek Reef, who extended National Giving Day by at least 24 hours, took a big charge and tip-followed a miss to off-set some of the great charity work he did in the pair of games. The Red-and-Black extended the lead to 7-2 as Jonah Eber fed Pierce Bell for three points from the top of the key. Griffin Levine Sr lobbed over the zone defense for a Reef finish and then turned a steal into a layup for a 13-9 edge through one period of play. This game was too choppy for the Bulldogs to achieve enough rhythm for one of their patented turnover runs but impressively had zero first quarter giveaways themselves. Romaner led the way with 4 points in that first period while Eber was busy putting on a first half passing clinic. Levine scored thrice on Eber setups including a wing triple, a steal that turned into a transition finish, and an unforgettable slice pass for an acrobatic reverse layup. A 5-point margin put Yavneh on the verge of assuming command in this game on several occasions but Heschel was gritty and fought back each time. On the verge of losing the lead altogether late in the second quarter, Tyler Winton orchestrated a Levine curling pullup jumper to pad a fading lead at 24-21 for halftime. After no turnovers in the first half, Yavneh gave the ball away 4 times before halftime, missed 4 more free throws, and was continuing to have issues shooting the basketball. A 5-0 Heschel burst out of the locker room surged them into the lead 26-24. After breaking open a close game in the second half in their first contest, the Heat looked to be in prime position to do the same in this one. Reef and Bell carved up the defense to tie the score instantly, and Reef put Yavneh ahead for good with a wing three ball off a nifty setup by Levine one possession later. Bell and Reef worked the offensive glass for nearly the entire second half. Bell finished with contact for an AND-ONE tip follow, and Reef vacuumed in an Eber rifle pass crosscourt for a 32-28 lead. Levine was bruised, battered, cramped up, and sensational to end the third chapter of this game. A hobbling, off-balance trifecta somehow found the bottom of the net and a collapsing pullup jumper was nothing but nylon despite the fact that Levine had to be helped off the court to horrifically witness his combined AND-NONE. As it was, however, the Bulldogs maintained a 39-34 edge. In Levine’s absence, Pierce Bell would not let his team lose this game. A rumble straight to the rack, a stumbling travel-assist to Reef, another second chance basket with contact, and one of the most violent, statement blocked shots of the year essentially ended Heschel’s hopes in this game. Bell had extended the lead to 47-38 with under 3 minutes to play, and Reef used a runner and a rack attack to officially put the game on ice. His 18 points and 7 rebounds turned a disastrous pre-game into a solid final body of work. Griffin Levine added 17 more points and did not play the final stanza. He will be well rested for another two-game “senario” on Thursday. Pierce Bell’s 15 point/7 rebound effort was impressive and that 3 minute stretch in the fourth quarter was THE difference in the game being close down the stretch. Also of note, Jonah Eber’s 6 assists were key in what became a rare half-court affair for the Bulldogs in 2017-18.
There was plenty to be desired in Wednesday’s opening day performance in The Charm City. Yavneh (9-0) got scoring from only 4 players in the two games combined, suffered severe shooting woes both from the three point line and the free throw line, did not do great in the rebounding department, and never seemed to get into their rhythm. This has to be ultra-alarming for the other teams in this tournament who all know this will in all likelihood not last. If the Bulldogs regain their flow there may very well be no one that can play on the same floor with them in Maryland this week. As it is, the Red-and-Black were victorious in this so-called Top 10 matchup of Jewish schools, snuck by the host school of this tournament, and now hold the nation’s longest winning streak among Jewish high schools at 9 and counting. Next up will be International Day for the Bulldogs at the Weiner Tournament with CHAT of Toronto and Boyar from Israel on the docket Thursday. Can this team win 5 more games for an epic 14 straight in Baltimore over 2 years and back-to-back championships?
The Kennel Report, now in its 14th season, is written by…
Zack Pollack M&M TL-BW-SP-BR