Yavneh defeated Arlington’s Burton Adventist Academy 53-16 Thursday night. The win evens the Bulldogs season record at 1-1.
Both teams knew they had a religious day of rest coming in less than 24 hours but the comparisons stopped right there on this night. Yavneh scored 30 of the game’s first 32 points in a bounce-back demolition, making the previous game seem like a distant memory. Senior Noah Weiss cancelled the All Points Bulletin search for the Senior post that was supposed to be a centerpiece for this team in just narrowly missing a double-double. Just 48 hours removed from a game in which he could not stay on the court for more than a minute or two at a time, Weiss was virtually unstoppable inside the paint and a big factor on the boards as well. Seniors Zak Schultz and Ori Guttman connected right off the opening tip for the quickest of leads with Junior Steve Levine pick-pocketing a Burton ball handler moments later for a full court finishing 4-0 edge. Once again first year post Sophomore Daniel Chernikov found himself right in the middle of efficient first period offense. Chernikov found Schultz for a trifecta and when Levine hooked up with Weiss on a nice look away pass 11-2 was the early margin. The pressure defense was a bit too much for Burton early and often. As Bulldog reinforcements entered the game, the outlook seemed to get even worse for the visitors. Junior Jonathan Ochstein, seeing his first action of the season, threw a dart to buddy David Steinbrecher for a rhythm corner jumper and by the time Levine lassoed another pass to Chernikov at the basket the score was 16-2 and the rout was on. Yavneh out-shot Burton 43-14% in that 16-2 first period, forcing 10 turnovers and seeing six of their players score points. For the second straight game, the Bulldogs shared the ball with great efficiency as 5 of the 7 field goals were assisted. Yavneh kept bringing their depth off the bench and Burton was simply overwhelmed. Sophomore Noah Rubinstein dazzled with a nice find of Chernikov and then Senior Grant Prengler was the architect for a nice out of bounds under play find of Ochstein for a 24-2 beginning. As if that wasn’t enough, the Noah to Noah connection struck twice in a row as Rubinstein assisted Weiss for a 30-2 advantage nearly at halftime. 32-4 was the score at the break thanks to 11 assists on 14 made baskets. Unlike the second half vs HSAA, the Bulldogs gave up the ball just 5 times while themselves forcing 21 first half giveaways. Weiss scored 11 points and pulled down 7 rebounds to recover nicely from a below sub-par opening night.
Maybe the best sign of the night was that there was no third quarter letup this time around. Yavneh did some nice work against the Burton zone defense, highlighted by a great dish from Schultz to Steinbrecher for a corner triple. The score never got remotely close and the Bulldogs were able to look at several different player combinations down the stretch. The game got frenetic in the final period with sloppy play on both sides but through it all the Yavneh slick passing attack prevailed. 10 of the 12 players recorded at least one assist, including the first career helper for Will Naxon late in the game. In all, assists on 86% of the field goals left Burton helpless to the Bulldog attack. The 33 forced turnovers were icing on the cake for the home team. Noah Weiss led the way with the 11 points and 9 rebounds. Fellow post Daniel Chernikov added 10 points and knocked down all 4 of his free throws, a rarity for a Bulldog player on this night. Noah Rubinstein played an efficient all-around game at several positions, scoring 7 points to along with 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and a pair of steals. Zak Schultz and Grant Prengler each had 5 steals, and Steve Levine had a game-high 4 assists.
Yavneh (1-1) bounced back nicely and now will have a revenge opportunity at the HSAA program in a match-up with the South team, seemingly carrying a few less NCAA Division 1 prospects. If the Bulldogs can continue sharing and caring at both ends of the court, it is extremely likely that they will soon be looking at a .500 winning percentage in their rear-view mirror. With now 2 posts coming to play and guard/swing depth being referred to as The Grand Canyon, this team definitely is starting to get their feet under themselves. A challenging 3-game week to come will provide further identity to this group.
The Kennel Report, now in its eleventh season, has been written by…
Zack Pollack M&M
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